Despite losses, Wimbledon a success for Americans Navarro, Paul

WIMBLEDON, England — For one set and two games on Tuesday afternoon, it looked as if Tommy Paul was on his way to becoming the first American man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since 2018. After a tightly contested opening set on No. 1 Court against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Paul brought the crowd to its feet with his heroics. He had a 7-5 edge after 72 minutes.

Paul earned an early break in the second set, creating a buzz in the stands and leaving many to wonder if an upset was in the works.

But Alcaraz, as he so often does, raised his level and fought back. First he took the set, then Paul’s confidence and then the match. Bolstered by a strong return game and 36 winners, Alcaraz emerged victorious 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. He advanced to the semifinals while Paul was sent home.

Meanwhile, just a few hundred feet away, fellow American Emma Navarro was playing on Centre Court for a spot in her first major semifinals after a dominant run to the quarterfinals. She had convincingly defeated Coco Gauff in straight sets in the fourth round and had emerged as the unlikely favorite in the equally unexpected bottom half of the draw.

But Navarro’s hopes were dashed quickly against the surging Jasmine Paolini. The No. 7 seed, who reached the French Open final last month, took control early and never relinquished it. She needed just 58 minutes for the 6-2, 6-1 victory. Paolini became the first Italian woman in the Open era to advance to the semifinals at the All England Club, while Navarro became the second American of the day with a disappointing result.

But while their runs ended earlier than either would have liked, the tournament and the grass-court season can only be viewed as a success for both Paul and Navarro.

Paul, 27, earned the first grass-court title of his career at Queen’s Club last month and following the title briefly became the top-ranked American man. It was his best finish at Wimbledon in three appearances and marked his second major quarterfinal. Even in defeat, Paul said there was a lot he could take away from the past several weeks.

“I feel like every match I kind of learned something new, every match I played a little bit better,” Paul said on Tuesday. “I was attacking pretty well throughout the whole stretch. I mean, I guess what I’m most proud of is probably two weeks ago, in Queen’s, getting [the] title. I feel like any time you can go home with a title, that is nice.

“Then this week, I mean, I’m happy getting…