World No. 18 Emma Navarro had all but an easy day at the office against 82nd-ranked Sonay Kartal, but ultimately managed to win 3-6 6-4 6-3 and put the United States 1-0 up after the opening match of their Billie Jean King Cup semifinal tie against Great Britain.
Right out of the gate, Navarro broke Kartal in the first game of the match. But then, the American tennis star lost her serve in back-to-back games and found herself 1-4 down. While the world No. 18 managed to get the break back, the Briton took the American's serve again in the eighth game to open a 5-3 lead before serving out for the opener in the following game.
Soon it went from bad to worse for Navarro, who was twice down by a break in the second set. However, the 2024 US Open semifinalist refused to quit as she stormed back to take the second set and force a decider.
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After Kartal missed out on her chance to close out the match in two sets, the American collected the key break of the third set in the sixth game and then just held on to her serve for the rest of the match to complete a big comeback after two hours and 14 minutes of play.
Navarro put the United States in front
Moments after coming back to beat Kartal, Navarro and the United States didn't hide their happiness.
Now, Jessica Pegula has a chance to seal a final ticket for the United States Davis Cup team - the world No. 4 plays against Katie Boulter.
If Pegula gets the job done against Pegula, the United States will take on Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup final.
