Coco Gauff’s US Open title defence is over after she was beaten by Emma Navarro in the fourth round in New York.
Third seed Gauff produced a disjointed performance to lose 3-6 6-4 3-6 to fellow American and 13th seed Navarro.
Gauff hit 19 double faults, with three in the final game helping secure victory for Navarro and send her into a first US Open quarter-final.
Navarro’s victory ends Gauff’s bid to become the first woman to defend the US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014.
It also makes the 23-year-old the youngest American woman to make the quarter-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year since Williams in 2004.
“I lost in the first round the last two years and now to be making the quarter-finals is pretty insane,” said Navarro.
“This is the city I was born in and it feels so special to be playing here. Coco is an amazing player.
“I have a ton of respect for her and I know she’s going to come back here and win this thing again.”
Gauff was comprehensively beaten by Navarro just two months ago in the last 16 at Wimbledon.
The American said she would need to maintain her focus after “collapsing” mentally in their previous meeting – but frailties on serve, including four back-to-back double faults in the third set, helped Navarro secure victory again.
Navarro will go on to play 26th seed Paula Badosa in the last eight after the Spaniard thrashed China’s Yafan Wang 6-1 6-2 earlier on Sunday.
