Shelton & Navarro Win Eisenhower Cup Ahead Of Indian Wells Open
ATPWednesday, 06 March 2024 at 05:37
Updated at Wednesday, 06 March 2024 at 05:39
Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro are the 2024 Eisenhower Cup champions, after battling past all of their opponents at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Traditionally, ahead of the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, and the third WTA tournament of such category, the Eisenhower Cup took place in an attempt not only to entertain fans, but also to help charity.
Last year, the event was a great success, with Aryna Sabalenka and Taylor Fritz winning the trophy. This year, the two have not defended their title, so it was clear there would be a new duo lifting the trophy, and it was one of only two all-American teams, to the delight of the home crowd.
Ben Shelton is one of the best servers on the ATP Tour, while Emma Navarro is one of the rising stars on the WTA Tour, and their pairing proved to be very vital for the mixed doubles.
The two have started against Andrey Rublev and Maria Sakkari, who has replaced Elena Rybakina, who withdrew from the tournament. The match proved to be the closest one of the evening, as Sakkari and Rublev had a match point, which the American duo saved to win 11-9.
In their semifinal match, Shelton and Navarro played against the Danish duo of Holger Rune and Caroline Wozniacki, who were the players that eliminated the defending champions Sabalenka and Fritz in the first round.
This time around, the American team stepped up their game with a much more dominant performance, outplaying their opposition 10-5 to reach the final of the 2024 Eisenhower Cup, taking on the tennis couple Tsitsidosa.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa teamed up for the tournament, and they were very close to winning the trophy, but ultimately, Shelton and Navarro proved to be the best team on Tuesday evening, winning the final match 10-8 to lift the trophy.
After the match, both were really happy about the success, as that means they are heading into their Indian Wells Open campaigns on a virtual winning streak, which certainly helps the confidence.
"Coming back to American after being oversees for a while, and getting to play in front of the American fans and just here on the American soil it's really awesome, there's a different feel here, and it's just really special being able to play in front of you guys."- Emma Navarro
"As soon as I saw that I was paired up with her [Emma] and I saw the tear that she's been on lately, all she does is win, so I knew we had a pretty good chance tonight, so shout out Emma Navarro!"- Ben Shelton
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