In her second-round match on No. 3 Court at Wimbledon, American Emma Navarro, the tenth seed, delivered a composed and clinical grass-court performance to defeat Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets: 6-1, 6-2.
The match highlighted a clear contrast in playing styles—Navarro’s controlled precision against Kudermetova’s more risk-heavy aggression—and it was the steadier approach that prevailed.
While neither player struck an ace, Navarro served with far more consistency and confidence. She hit just one double fault. Kudermetova struggled to find rhythm, hitting five double faults.
Navarro had a modest 10 winners, but more importantly, she committed only 5 unforced errors.
Kudermetova was far more erratic. Though she hit 15 winners, she also had 32 unforced errors.
Credit: Reuters
In her post-match press conference, Navarro said: “Yeah, I thought it was good. Played
well when I needed to and made her have to hit a lot of tough shots. Served well at times. I felt like pushed back against her serve well and was pretty strong from the
baseline. So, yeah, I’m happy.”
Navarro, who reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year, spoke about playing on grass: “Yeah, I think grass is a lot about movement and footwork and stability and timing. Yeah, those are all things that I put a lot of emphasis on year-round really. I think they definitely help me when I get onto a grass court.
“I feel like I kind of enjoy using the grass to my advantage a little bit and hitting some slices and mixing up spins and different speeds and kind of controlling the tempo of points.
“Yeah, coming into grass I didn’t know that that sort of thing would work to my advantage as much as it has, but it has. Yeah, I’m just kind of running with that.
“I like to take serves a little bit closer to the baseline on grass and just try to be really strong and stable and use the ground to my advantage on grass against big serves.”
Navarro was asked about being an American with the 4th of July coming up. She said: “I’m incredibly proud to come from the U. S. and to play under the American flag.
“I think it’s an honor and it’s a pleasure. I got to represent the U. S. in the Olympics last year. That was a sort of pride that, you know, you don’t really get at other times. Playing with the American flag on my chest was something incredibly special. Yeah, kind of still gives me
chills to think about.
“But I feel honored to be an American and play for the U. S. and represent U. S. tennis. So I think it’s a privilege year-round that we get to do it, and then especially this time of year.
“Try to celebrate a little bit. Not too much because I have to play the next day. But yeah, I think it’s a great holiday.”