By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 3, 2024
New York—What does perfection appear 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“One of many first instances that we sat down collectively, , going again to when she was 14 years outdated, and we alluded to this,” he mentioned.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 approach.
“So I mentioned, this is what I would like you to attempt to be good at. I would like you to attempt to be good 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. Relatively than hold her head she held it excessive and reset to play a strong third set that acquired her the victory.
Ayers says that adversity is welcome in Workforce Navarro. It’s not the top of the world, it’s a possibility to bounce again.
“When one thing antagonistic occurs, one thing damaging 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. , this is a chance to bounce again,’” he mentioned.
Navarro has been an ideal pupil for Ayers, embracing the mentality to, effectively, perfection.
“I feel it is simple to be powerful whenever you’re enjoying nice tennis and every little thing’s working effectively, and also you’re hitting all of your photographs effectively and issues are simply going easy, however I feel toughness is when you’ll be able to 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 enjoying,” she mentioned.
Navarro, who will play her maiden main semifinal in her eighth main look, had by no means received 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 feel it is the flexibility to not get discouraged by issues not going your approach or by you making errors,” she mentioned. “, you are simply form of simply unfazed by the issues which might be occurring on the market, and simply the flexibility to maintain coming level after level, recreation after recreation and by no means hitting that restrict of, , I’ve missed X quantity of this particular shot and I simply can’t take it anymore.
“Simply not letting that occur.”