One of the first thoughts that came to my mind after the Wimbledon draw was over was this: what bad luck for Diana Schneider! The 20-year-old Russian tennis player, who is making great strides, was dealt the hardest net at the start of the grass-court major. In the first round, the draw identified her opponent as former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2021. In the second round, Diana faced 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, and in the third, she faced four-time TBS winner Naomi Osaka.
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On July 1, Schneider became world number 30 for the first time in her career. In the live rankings, Diana is ranked 26th – let’s hope that her ranking in the majors is not far behind. The young Russian survived the first two rounds of Wimbledon 2024 with honor. Over Pliskova, whose powerful serve is extremely dangerous on grass, Schneider won a decisive victory and Stevens was completely crushed – 6:1, 6:1 in just 51 minutes! Strictly speaking, Diana’s victory was not a surprise, but no one predicted the devastating result.
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In the third round of Wimbledon, Schneider did not face Osaka, who was playing with a protected ranking, but the 19th seed, Emma Navarro. It was Navarro who eliminated the Japanese from the group, beating her 6:4, 6:1 – if it was a surprise, it was a very small one, because Naomi, apparently, had not yet regained the advantageous form she had before pregnancy and the birth of her child.
Naomi Osaka and Emma Navarro after their match at Wimbledon 2024
Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Diana will play Emma for the third time in a month and a half. In the second half of May, on the eve of Roland Garros, the Russian defeated her opponent in the final of the WTA-125 tournament in Paris. Schneider won that match 6:2, 3:6, 6:4. In the semi-finals of the 500 metres in Bad Homburg, Diana also won (7:5, 2:6, 6:3), after which she won the title, the most important of her career to date. Crossing Navarro at the net becomes a good sign!
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Navarro, 23, is now ranked 17th in the world rankings. Like Schneider, this is his biggest achievement so far. In January this year, the American won the title at professional level for the first time, winning the Hobart tournament. Emma’s best result in Grand Slam tournaments is reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros 2024. And at Wimbledon, she broke the first-round barrier for the first time.
In juniors, Navarro has already qualified for the final of a major. In the title battle at Roland Garros 2019, the American lost to Leila Fernandez. In general, Emma did not have and could not have any problems with the development of her career, because her father is the American financier Ben Navarro, a billionaire who made his fortune in banking. Sources give different information about Navarro’s fortune: Forbes, for example, estimates it at 1.5 billion dollars and the Daily Mail at 3.8 billion dollars. In this, Emma Navarro resembles her compatriot Jessica Pegula, whose father also has an impressive fortune.
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According to Emma, her father helped her not only financially but also morally. “I have to give him credit, he is probably the smartest person I know. And over the years he has passed on a lot of knowledge and wisdom. He taught me how to look at things, especially on the court. I am not very comfortable being the center of attention. But I worked hard all these years,” said the athlete in an interview with Tennis Channel.
Emma Navarro at Wimbledon 2024
Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images
…After her first-round win over Pliskova, Schneider said she has no special goals for this Wimbledon. “I played one match with Pliskova. It was very difficult, especially mentally, because I left a lot of emotions behind me last week in Bad Homburg and it was difficult to get emotional and show emotions.
“I am very satisfied with my performance and the fact that I managed to win. Carolina is a very difficult tennis player, very accomplished. I am proud to have managed to win after such a busy week in Bad Homburg. But I don’t have any goals for Wimbledon. I will be happy with every victory,” Diana said in an interview with “Championship”.
Mature and balanced approach.
The third round match at Wimbledon between Diana Schneider (Russia) and Emma Navarro (USA, 19) will take place on Friday 5 July. Follow all the events of the London major on the “Championship”.
