By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 3, 2024
New York—What does perfection seem like for Emma Navarro? Her longtime coach, Peter Ayers answered that query on Tuesday in New York.
Ayers, who has labored with Navarro since her junior days, says perfection isn’t a shot or a rating – it’s a mindset.
“One of many first occasions that we sat down collectively, , going again to when she was 14 years previous, and we alluded to this,” he mentioned. “So you are a perfectionist, most excessive achievers are, and it is a good high quality if it is utilized in a wholesome, sustainable means.
“So I mentioned, this is what I would like you to try to be excellent at. I would like you to try to be excellent at bouncing again. Stuff’s going to occur. You are competing in tennis, like, there’s going to be adversity each time you play.”
We’ve seen that bounce again mentality from Navarro right here on the US Open. She went on walkabout and dropped the center set to Coco Gauff throughout her fourth-round battle with the defending champ. Reasonably than hold her head she held it excessive and reset to play a stable third set that received her the victory.
Ayers says that adversity is welcome in Crew Navarro. It’s not the top of the world, it’s a chance to bounce again.
“When one thing opposed occurs, one thing unfavorable occurs, you get a foul line name otherwise you break a string or the solar is in your eyes, no matter, experience, ‘Oh, that is nice. You recognize, this is a chance to bounce again,’” he mentioned.
Navarro has been an ideal pupil for Ayers, embracing the mentality to, nicely, perfection.
“I believe it is simple to be powerful whenever you’re taking part in nice tennis and all the things’s working nicely, and also you’re hitting all of your photographs nicely and issues are simply going easy, however I believe toughness is when you may proceed to go after your photographs and play aggressive tennis when some doubt creeps in and whenever you’re not one hundred pc certain about simply sure photographs or the way you’re taking part in,” she mentioned.
Navarro, who will play her maiden main semifinal in her eighth main look, had by no means gained a essential draw match on the US Open previous to this 12 months.
She rallied from 5-1 down within the second set on Tuesday to take out Paula Badosa, 6-2, 7-5.
“I believe it is the flexibility to not get discouraged by issues not going your means or by you making errors,” she mentioned. “You recognize, you are simply sort of simply unfazed by the issues which are taking place on the market, and simply the flexibility to maintain coming level after level, sport after sport and by no means hitting that restrict of, , I’ve missed X quantity of this particular shot and I simply cannot take it anymore.
“Simply not letting that occur.”