Gauff won the pair’s only previous meeting in Auckland (6-3, 6-1), but Navarro has been a revelation on tour in 2024, rising into the top-20 for the first time. Here at Wimbledon the former NCAA champion at the University of Virginia raised eyebrows with a clinical takedown of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round, before defeating Russia’s Diana Shnaider in the third round.
“She’s obviously a great player, she’s had a great tournament,” Gauff said. “It’s going to be a tough match, she’s not an easy opponent to play, but I think if I play good tennis, hopefully it will go my way.”
Against Kartal, Gauff raced away with the final eight games of the match on No.1 Court, breaking up what started as a nervy encounter, improving to 11-4 lifetime at Wimbledon and reaching the round of 16 for the third time.
“She does a good job of mixing it up with variety, so you never really feel settled,” Gauff said of her opponent. “I was just trying to make less mistakes. I felt like I was going for the right shots, I was just missing [early in the match], and I felt like I eventually found it and was able to do well.”
Gauff, who reached the round of 16 as a 15-year-old qualifier, has never been past the fourth round at SW19.
The 20-year-old American beat Caroline Dolehide (6-1, 6-2) and Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni (6-2, 6-1) earlier in the tournament.
In the previous rounds of The Championships, Kartal, ranked No 298, defeated Romanian Sorana Cirstea, the No 29 seed (3-6, 6-2, 6-0) and Frenchwoman Clara Burel (6-3, 5-7, 6-3).
London (Grand Slam), other third-round results (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 50.000.000, most recent results first):
