Navarro ousts Osaka to set up quarters clash with Pegula at Bad Homburg

Emma Navarro remains a force to be reckoned with at the Bad Homburg.

Navarro, the No. 5 seed from the United States, is into her third straight Bad Homburg Open quarterfinal after a clinical 6-4, 6-4 win over former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka.

World No. 10 Navarro needed 1 hour and 27 minutes to collect the victory, denying four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka her first Top 10 win since she ousted Jelena Ostapenko.

“I think I played a lot of good tennis,” Navarro said on court, after her win. “So did she, she made it really tough on me. Definitely there’s some things to work on too, so I’ll be looking forward to improving for next round.”

If she wants to make another semi-final here, Navarro will have to beat her countrywoman and friend, No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula, in the quarter-finals. Pegula won their only previous meeting in straight sets, on the hard courts of Miami last year.

Top seed Pegula powered past Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-2 6-3 earlier.

Krejcikova survives scare: Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova saved match points for the second successive day against a British opponent to reach the quarter-finals of the Eastbourne WTA 250 event on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Czech was troubled by a thigh strain and looked on the verge of being knocked out by Jodie Burrage when she served at 5-6 in the deciding set and fell 0-40 behind but she somehow turned it around to win 6-4 4-6 7-6(3).

There was further disappointment for British fans in the following match at a packed Devonshire Park when Emma Raducanu was beaten 4-6 6-1 7-6(4) by 19-year-old Australian Maya Joint.

Second seed Krejcikova, who beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini to win last year’s Wimbledon title, seemed in control when leading by a set and a break of serve but needed treatment on her leg.

Burrage, ranked 164th in the world, played impressively to hit back though and broke Krejcikova’s serve to level the match -- one point being awarded to her after a forehand from her opponent found its way through a hole in the net.

The 26-year-old British player kept just ahead in the decider but she could not take any of the three match points that came her way and then a costly double-fault in the tiebreak offered up match points to Krejcikova, who made no mistake.

Krejcikova, who also saved match points on Tuesday against home player Harriet Dart, has won two singles matches in a row for the first time in an injury-hit 2025.

She will next face French qualifier Varvara Gracheva. Raducanu will be the main home hope for a first British women’s champion at Wimbledon since 1977, but she is still struggling for consistency and fitness.

The 22-year-old began slowly but hit her stride to take the first set against Joint, but was then largely outplayed.

Joint raced through the second set and led 5-2 in the decider before tightening up and allowing Raducanu back.

Three times Joint failed to serve out the match but she loosened up enough in the tiebreak to seal a notable victory, bashing down an ace to finish off the duel. She will face Anna Blinkova next after she beat New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in straight sets.

Meanwhile, Holger Rune has put the mangled rackets that have borne the brunt of his frustration in matches over the years up for sale among a collection of items in his new online store which he hopes will help charitable causes.

The world number eight launched the website over the weekend, giving fans the chance to buy items such as books, posters and playing cards, as well as match-worn clothing.

While many of the items sold out in a flash, several used rackets were on sale for close to $6,000, while two that were bent and smashed beyond repair during the Dane’s rare moments of rage on court were priced at more than $7,000.

Agencies