Navarro dispatches McNally 6-2, 6-1 to reach US Open third round

In an all-American affair on Grandstand under a magnificent blue sky, Emma Navarro, born in the Big Apple, took on fellow American Caty McNally in the second round.

Navarro, who is seeded tenth and ranked 11th, reached a career high of #8 last September following her semifinal run in New York (l. Sabalenka). The twenty-four-year-old, with two career titles including the Merida Open and Akron at the start of the season, struggled during the summer hardcourt swing, winning just one match in three events.

Caty McNally from Madeira, Ohio, won two titles on the Challenger tour, including the WTA 125 event in Newport, played on the lawns of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She achieved a career-high rank of #54 in May 2023, but it dropped precipitously following elbow surgery in March of last year. McNally was awarded a wild card into the main draw based on her impressive results this summer.

Photo: Getty

She won three matches in two events during the summer hardcourt swing in addition to clinching the title in the Evansville, Indiana WTT75 event following her championship run at the Hall of Fame Open. This was their second tour-level meeting and first since Indian Wells in 2023, which Navarro took in three sets. McNally won the toss and elected to serve.

McNally opened with a blistering forehand down the line and reached 40-15 but soon faced three deuce and two break points following a double fault and dumped serve. During that game, she missed two consecutive forehand swing volleys – a shot she made repeatedly during her pre-match warmup, which I attended. While pressure is a privilege, it invariably presents challenges.
Navarro gifted four unforced errors, including a double fault, to give back the break. McNally once again reached 40-15 but dropped serve following two consecutive double faults. Navarro made 6/8 first serves and, though she faced deuce, consolidated the break for 3-1.

McNally won the point of the set, striking the ball with pace and placement before finally making a forehand swing volley to clinch it. That seemed to relax her as she held easily to 15 for 2-3. Navarro missed 3/5 first serves yet held to 15 for 4-2.

McNally faced a break point and dumped serve as the unforced errors continued to accrue. With the crowd evenly split between the two, Navarro, serving with new balls, struck her first ace before converting her third set point.

McNally served first in the second and quickly faced a triple break point and dropped serve after two consecutive double faults. Navarro made 4/5 first serves and consolidated the break to 15 for 2-0, while McNally, aiming too close to the lines, donated three additional unforced errors to drop serve.

Navarro opened the fourth with her third double fault and faced two deuce and three break points before giving back the break with an errant forehand. McNally failed to capitalize on her opponent’s errors as her own continued to mount. She committed three more and dropped serve when Navarro ripped a forehand pass crosscourt.

Navarro continued to serve well, making 4/4, including a 97mph ace to hold at love for 5-1. McNally, serving to stay in the match, was undone by thirty-three unforced errors, including her 6th double fault, to concede the match after 1 ¼ hours.

Navarro embraced the challenge and improved as the match progressed while McNally faltered. She finished with two aces, three double faults, and won 60% of first and 59% of second serve points. She saved 2/4 break points while converting 7/8 and struck 10 winners to nine unforced errors.

It was a solid performance from the Charlestonian, but she’ll need to rigorously up the ante in the next round when she battles two-time grand slam champion and former world #2, Barbora Krejcikova. Although Navarro prevailed in their lone encounter at Wimbledon this July, Krejcikova was returning from an extended hiatus due to a chronic back injury.