‘Bold, Brave’ Navarro Avoids Upset Bid

COLLINS, ANISIMOVA, PEGULA BOOK CHARLESTON QUARTERS

Defending champion Danielle Collins, top seed Jessica Pegula and hometown favorite Emma Navarro were among those booking spots in the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open quarterfinals on Thursday at LTP-Daniel Island. No. 2 seed and 2019 titlist Madison Keys wasn’t as fortunate, a 6-2, 6-4 upset victim at the hands of 14th seed Anna Kalinskaya.

Collins, the seventh seed, overcame a slow start to oust 2017 runner-up Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, in a much-anticipated matchup on the Althea Gibson Club Court.

Down a break in the opener at 4-2, Collins, 31, held her ground to advance to the elite eight for the third time in four appearances in the Lowcountry.

“Sometimes when someone is coming up with really good shots, there’s not a lot that you can do,” said Collins, who fought off four of the seven break points she faced. “I just started feeling my shots more and more, and then I think I channeled some of that frustration really well, and it motivated me to push through and keep going after the shots. I was really happy with how I was able to deal with that adversity and be able to get through those tough moments, because she’s a hard player to be down against.”

Danielle Collins.

Collins’ next opponent, Pegula, is into the quarterfinals for the third year in a row thanks to a businesslike 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic. It marked her second win over the Australian in 2025, having also prevailed, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, en route to a WTA 250 title last month in Austin.

“I thought, besides getting broken in the first game, I served really well,” said Pegula, who won 29 of 36 (80 percent) first-serve points. “She returns very well and can put a lot of pressure on you if you’re not serving well. So that was definitely something I had to do well today. Then I just hit a lot of drop shots, slices, kind of wanted to play a little bit more clay-court than when I played her in the past on the hard courts, kind of mix up the variety and maybe make her feel a little bit more uncomfortable because I know from the back and from the baseline when she gets in a rhythm with things, it can be really tough.”

For the second time in four years, Yulia Putintseva saw her Charleston campaign come to an end against Amanda Anisimova. After a 6-1, 6-2 second-round loss to the American in 2022, the Kazakh baseliner again fell short on Daniel Island, this time in the Round of 16, 6-4, 6-4.

Anisimova, a semifinalist here in 2022, faced only one break point in the one-hour, 16-minute contest. For her efforts, she earns a matchup with local favorite Emma Navarro, who is through to the quarterfinals in her hometown for the first time after overcoming a set-and-a-break deficit against red-hot 20-year-old Ashlyn Krueger.

The fourth seed Navarro trailed 6-4, 2-0 against Krueger before finding some rhythm on the green clay of Credit One Stadium, winning, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, in two hours and eight minutes.

“I feel like she served really well in the first set. I just couldn’t get my footing on my returns,” said Navarro, 23. “I came out in the second set and played really aggressively. I just wanted to play bold, be brave and really go for my shots, and it ended up working out. I’m excited to be in the next round.”

Navarro’s big-match experience (she reached the Wimbledon quarters and US Open semis last year) likely came into play as she problem-solved on the fly.

“It’s definitely helped. I definitely feel different this year versus last year or the years prior,” she explained. “I think I made this week a little bit more than what it actually is. You know, when it comes down to it, it’s another week on tour. It’s another 500, and I’m definitely seeing the enjoyment in it, just playing at home and trying to take it all in and really embrace that, but at the same time making sure that I’m understanding that it’s another week on tour and not make too much of that.”

Third seed Zheng Qinwen of China needed two hours and 21 minutes to overcome Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Next up for the reigning Olympic champion is ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who raced past former NC State star Dianna Shnaider, 6-2, 6-1, in just 54 minutes.

With her high-profile upset of Keys, Kalinskaya returns to the quarterfinals in Charleston for the first time since 2023.

Jessica Pegula.