Carla Suárez Navarro of Spain, seeded No. 30, upset the No.6 seed Caroline Garcia of France on Saturday in a three-set thriller, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4). The win puts the 29-year-old Spaniard into the fourth round of the US Open for the fifth time, and one round shy of her career-best quarterfinal finish at the Open in 2013.
Suárez Navarro, the lone Spanish woman left in the draw, has now won three consecutive three-set matches, including another comeback win from a set down in the first round over American Nicole Gibbs.
Here are five fast facts on the veteran Spaniard:
Suárez Navarro shot up the rankings early in her career. After a number of years on the ITF Circuit, she was ranked just No. 132 in the world in the spring of 2008. But at that year’s French Open she managed to win three qualifying matches, and then, in the main draw, defeated former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in the second round en route to the quarterfinals, becoming the joint-lowest ranked women's quarterfinalist at the French Open. She followed that up seven months later by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2009 Australian Open, upsetting Top-10 player Venus Williams along the way. After her run in Australia her ranking soared to No. 30 in the world.
Although Suárez Navarro reached the New Haven final last week, she’s actually quite well rested. That’s because she reached the final having only completed one match: a straight-set win over No. 22-ranked Barbora Strycova. After that, she received a walkover in the second round when Johanna Konta withdrew due to illness, and in her next two matches her opponents, Petra Kvitova and Monica Puig, each had to retire with injuries mid-match. “I feel like I didn’t play, and I’m in the final,” Suárez Navarro said at the time. "But, what can I do? Nothing."
Over her long career Suárez Navarro has had solid results at all four Grand Slams. Her best Grand Slam result to date has been reaching the quarterfinals, something she’s done three times at the Australian Open (2018, ’16, ’09), twice at the French Open (2014, 2008), and once at the US Open (2013). She has also twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon (2016, ’13). With her win today she owns a 20-10 US Open record.
She has a unique game. Suárez Navarro is currently the highest ranked woman who plays with a one handed backhand. Her favorite shot? Her cross-court backhand.
Despite a lower ranking of late, Suárez Navarro been solid against the top players in 2018. While Suárez Navarro was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world in 2016, she started off the 2018 season at No. 40. Regardless of the recent drop, she’s had impressive results against Top 10 players this year. Her victory today over the No. 6-ranked Garcia was her fourth over a Top 10 opponent this season. In her next match she plays former No.1 Maria Sharapova, who took out 2017 French Open winner and No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko. Considering her success against Top 10 players, the Spaniard is not likely to be intimidated by the Russian.
