A month ago, they became roommates in the Olympic Village in Paris and embarked on an adventure representing the red, white and blue.
After their third-round matches on Friday morning, the tennis gods brought them back together for an early All-American showdown.
Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro are scheduled to face off in the fourth round of the U.S. Open in what should be a popcorn-worthy rematch of their Wimbledon fourth-round showdown in July.
The pair will once again battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam and if Navarro wins again it will be his first quarter-final appearance in Flushing, just a month after making his first career appearance at Wimbledon.
“I'm really excited. I said it on court. I'm really excited to have two Americans playing in the fourth round,” Navarro told reporters. “I'll be playing Arthur Ashe, which is an experience I never dreamed of. I'll be playing the defending champion. I think it's going to be a great match and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity.”
The 6-4, 6-3 victory on grass catapulted Navarro into the public eye, and although she has flown under the radar, it will be hard for Gauff, who has been watching Wimbledon matches to study herself and her Sunday opponent, to forget her.
“I feel like during the Wimbledon match, mentally I literally collapsed on the court. I was so frustrated and she was playing well,” Gauff said. “I think that match, to me, was the best tennis she's ever played. And that tournament, too. … So going into this match, I have to expect her to play her best tennis and know that she's going to be a tough opponent so I have to give it my all and be there mentally from start to finish.”
Both Americans were grateful to have endured the tough matches to prepare for what will likely be the biggest match of the tournament.
The 23-year-old Navarro is enjoying a 45-19 singles record this year, including a 5-3 record in hard court tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open, including two semifinal appearances.
The world No. 13 won nine of 14 service games in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk on Friday.
Navarro won 64 percent of her service points but made 34 unforced errors, helping Kostyuk to pull ahead.
The 20-year-old Gauff hasn't quite reached the level she would like to in this tournament or on the hard courts leading up to the British Open.
The world number three struggled with her serve on Friday, yelling and throwing her hands up in frustration.
But she managed to piece together the final two sets to beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“At the end of the first set, I feel like I lost eight points in a row. I don't know the exact number, but it was probably more,” Gauff said. “So I knew at that point I needed to reset. So I went to the bathroom, changed my bottom half, splashed water on my face and just felt like a different person. So, I just didn't want to leave the court feeling guilty.”
For the second straight match, Gauff took to the practice court after her win to work on the mechanics that stood out during the match.
On Wednesday the focus was on serving, and on Friday the focus was on backhand strokes and serving.
It's another early showdown for the local Americans, as Francis Tiafoe beat Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the third round on Friday to set up a possible meeting with second-seeded Novak Djokovic.
But Navarro isn't frustrated by this early match and sees it as only beneficial for American tennis.
“We have five Americans in the top 20 or top 15 right now on both the men's and women's teams, which is really impressive. … Of course, I want myself and the other Americans to go as far as we can in the tournament. It's tough if one of us has to lose, but I'm not upset at all. I think this is a great opportunity for both of us.”
