A fan in the crowd tried his best to explain to the company beside him the leap in competition that high schoolers Emma Navarro and Chloe Beck would be facing in their WTA doubles debut.
“It’d be like if (Navarro and Beck) were playing middle schoolers,” the man put bluntly, perched just feet from the sideline of Althea Gibson Club Court where the pair was navigating through the opening round of doubles play in the Volvo Car Open.
The middle schoolers certainly made their presence felt, though, defeating tour veterans Darija Jurak and Jelena Ostapenko, 1-6, 6-3, 13-11, last Wednesday to advance into the tournament quarterfinals.
It was reasonable to assume the odds were against Navarro, a 17-year-old junior at Ashley Hall in Charleston, and Beck, her future teammate at Duke. The pair most recently won the Easter Bowl girls 18 doubles national championship together last week in Indian Wells, Calif. and, before that, the USTA girls 18 doubles clay court national championship last summer in Mount Pleasant.
Navarro is ranked as the No. 15 junior singles player in the world but without any previous WTA Tour experience, was listed 607th in doubles. Beck followed 619. The 34-year old Jurak, for comparison, was ranked 37th in doubles with Ostapenko listed 55th.
Ostapenko is known even better for her singles prowess. The 2017 French Open champion is ranked 31st in singles. She entered Wednesday's doubles match just hours removed from a two-and-a-half hour second-round win over Charleston's Shelby Rogers.
“It was definitely challenging,” Navarro said. “I think we were a little nervous going out there given the circumstances.”
Jurak and Ostapenko asserted themselves immediately while also benefitting from a few early miscues from the wide-eyed newcomers on way to a commanding 6-1 win in the opening set.
Navarro and Beck answered in the second, though, cleaning up the errant returns and attacking ahead more aggressively as their confidence grew. Navarro often sealed off the backline while Beck delivered timely strikes in the front court. The pair controlled the latter stages of a 6-3 win in the second set.
“I think what turned the match for us was our conviction in every shot we hit,” Navarro said. “We knew we weren’t going to win if we just made the ball in the court. We had to rip each shot.”
The veterans refused to go easily in the tiebreaking third set. The two sides traded blows back and forth, swapping games throughout before Navarro and Beck eventually extended a two-point advantage late to claim the match.
“After the first set, we definitely loosened up and relaxed,“ Navarro said. “The support of the crowd definitely helped us as well. They were awesome.”
Navarro and Beck’s run ended Friday with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to 33-year-old veterans, two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, and world No. 19 Andreja Klepac of Slovenia.
The matched played out closer than the final score might indicate. Five of the last seven games of the opening set were played to deuce. Navarro and Beck trailed just 3-2 midway through the second set and had chances at game point in two of the last three games.
It was similar to Tuesday night, when Navarro made her WTA singles debut against German veteran Laura Siegemund on stadium court.
The crowd of Navarro supporters showed up, much as it had in the doubles matches too, with hand-painted signs and rallying cries of support. Navarro shook her head at some of their antics from the upper deck but appreciated their spirit nonetheless.
“The atmosphere was amazing. A bunch of my school friends came out, tennis friends, and everyone was so supportive. And it was better than I could have ever imagined out there,” Navarro said. “It was awesome. And that kind of helped me to calm my nerves. It was obviously nerve-racking walking out there into the biggest stadium I've ever played in. But the support really helped, and I was able to relax and just play my game."
Navarro was undone 7-5, 6-4 by Siegemund, a respectable exit with plenty of opportunities against a challenging veteran. Navarro dropped the first two games of the opening set before rallying back to hold set point with a 5-3 lead. The Charleston crowed exploded for their hometown teenager.
Siegemund won the first three games of the second set before Navarro rallied back to once again challenge for the set.
“She definitely has a bright future,” Siegemund said. “She’s a grinder. She gives you a lot of balls that were a little bit inconsistent sometimes but she forced me to it so I think she’s definitely is a great player.
“Sorry you guys,” Siegemund apologized to the crowd before exiting the court. “I just did my job.”
Navarro was left pleased with the week and optimistic of what's still to come.
“I'm obviously disappointed that I lost, but I'm super happy with how I played, and it was definitely a good intro to the pro tour and a good pro debut,” Navarro said. “I'm really happy with how things went and I'm excited for the future.”
