How will this one go? Here’s Coach Calv! “Could be close but unlikely to be entertaining. They played at Wimbledon, Fritz won. Tactically nothing that interesting. As usual Zverev will roll his forehand slowly in court and hope he can hustle through on his serve and BH.”

Here come Fritz and Zverev. This should be good…

Badosa looked close to tears by the end of that but she’ll come again – this is just the start of her as a big noise. The crowd and occasion got to her, but it’s understandable that, after all she’s been through, the enormity of it all was too much when things were tense, or when they were expected of her – at the start, then when she had to serve out for a decider. The feelings she’s been feeling will stay with her for a while, but I hope that, when she’s calmed down, she’ll realise that just being here was a triumph – I know elite sportsfolk don’t work like that but still – and getting to the last eight shows how fantastic she is. I can’t wait to see her in Melbourne.

Next on Ashe: Tayor Fritz (12) v Alexander Zverev (4).

I can’t lie, I feel slightly robbed of a thrilling denouement. And I feel for Badosa, who played some terrific stuff to get here and just as she was in control, allowed the occasion to get big on her. But well played Emma Navarro: she might’ve tanked the end of set two to prepare for set three but is now so confident and so good, she backed herself to deal with things in two. I think we’ve a new fixture at the top of the women’s game; good.

Navarro says when she made 5-2 she felt like it might be doable in two sets and even if not, she wanted to set a marker for the third.

She thanks her coach for all his work over the years and also her dad, who knew she was a bit ADHD to sit in a classroom or a 9-5, so he sent her on her tennis-playing journey and here she is.

In the Wimbledon quarter, she talked herself into some feelings and got walloped, so turned up for this match “ready to rock”, explaining that she gets her intensity from her mum.

Otherwise, she’s looking forward to the semi, knowing whichever of the two it is, they serve big and she’ll be ready.

Emma Navarro (13) beats Paula Badosa (26) 6-2 7-5

Oh man, this is painful to watch now. Badosa is in one of those dreams where she can’t move her feet and a winner from Navarro makes 0-30. But a forehand winner halves the deficit, and a sudden backhand on to the line makes 30-all. In comms, they think the crowd are having an impact, and bat change of ends, Marion thought so too – for all the diference it makes. Badosa nets, and she’s match-point down!

In no time at all, Navarro serves out a love game for 6-2 6-5, and I’m sure she’ll be telling herself that if she can just get the ball into play, she’s in business. Badosa needs to rediscover her equilibrium, because the way she’s handled the last few games has been so careless – and yet we know she couldn’t care more.

Navarro plays a nice opening point, varying her pace with slice, and Badosa nets another forehand, then butchers a double; 0-30. Goodness me! Gosh, another double – the third time in the match she’s sent down two in a row – make is 12 of the last 14 points to Navarro, and when she serves again before the crowd have quietened, the sense is that she lost the run of herself. As it goes, she ends the rally via forehand, but another error means we’re back on serve, Navarro having won four games straight to lead 6-2 5-5. I’ve no idea how Badosa comes back from this, the suddenness of her disintegration quite startling.

Suddenly Badosa can’t get a ball in court; the fickleness of form is absolutely nuts. In no time at all, Navarro holds to love, leaving the Spaniard with 90 seconds to compose herself before trying to serve out set two a second time at 2-6 4-5.

Sent wide, Badosa can’t land her forehand in court, but a service-winner restores parity; 15-all. She does, though, stray long to cede 15-30, then wide for 15-40, and after playing a very fine set, she’s struggling to close it out. And have a look! A second serve sits up, Navarro administers the treatment via forehand winner, and now leads 6-2 3-5.

Navarro holds to 15, forcing Badosa to serve for it – but with two opportunities to level the match.

Badosa holds easily and Navarro must now serve at 6-2 1-5 to stay in the second set; however hard both players try, they’ll already be thinking about the decider.

Navarro is really canny in how she works her towards the net, hitting deep and inching towards the net like a Grandma’s Footsteps world champ. And that appears to be the advice she gets from her coach between games – she’s told to play through the court – but she’s second-best now, Badosa planted on the baseline and sending her to hither and yon but a few yards behind, forcing an error at 30-all that raises a point for the double-break. Navarro saves it but then misses a forehand so must face another … and what a shot Badosa delivers, a flat, nails backhand towards the corner and on to the line; it’s not a clean winner but it doesn’t come back, and she now leads 4-1 in set two! I hate to say it because I really enjoy Navarro, but in the first set, mentality told; now, class is telling. Badosa 2-6 4-1 Navarro

A Badosa error hands Navarro 15-all, but an ace down the T redeems it. Another follows out wide, then a gorgeous backhand, inside-out on to the sideline, gives her a 3-1 second-set lead.

A Navarro double gives Badosa 15-all but she can’t hit consistently enough to seriously intimate a second break, before Navarro clouts a fine forehand winner to secure her hold. She’s on the board in set two at 6-2 1-2.

We find ourselves at 30-all as Badosa seeks to consolidate, a swinging body-serve crowding Navarro who can’t respond, then the Spaniard’s forehand does the rest. This is better from Badosa, who’ll have known she had to improve while her opponent would most likely drop. Badosa 2-6 2-0 Navarro

Being broken for the set also means that Navarro serves first in the second and she’s been very solid so far. But has she lost focus? Very quickly it’s 0-30, but a sudden change of pace on the backhand surprises Badosa … then she goes long. Five unforceds in the first set, now three in this game! And though Badosa then goes waaaay long – she’s still not herself – Navarro swipes a backhand wide and all that hard work to win the first set might’ve been tossed in the first game of the second! She leads 6-2 0-1.

Navarro is handling the pressure much the better, racing to 0-40 and three set points. Two disappear when she drops long, but in control of the next point and at half-court, she panels a forehand down the middle when she might’ve hit a winner then, when the ball comes back, decides this is the time to try her first drop of the match despite the myriad options available, and sends it wide. Navarro leads 6-2 and is playing well, but the way Badosa ceded the set was tamer than Gentle Ben.

Marion, who’s courtside, says Badosa looks to be breathing heavily and that’s likely to be a reflection of her nerves; as Navarro makes 30-0, we learn that of the 10 rallies lasting nine shots or more, she’s won nine of them. We are, though, soon at 30-all, Navarro’s third unforced error levelling the game, then Badosa takes charge of the next exchange, zetzing forehands from the back to open the court for a winner. She might just’ve settled, but a fine forehand winner from Navarro takes us to deuce; no matter, an errant backhand means Badosa has advantage, her improvement upping the pressure, but she nets and back round we go. From there, though, Navarto closes out, painting a lovely forehand drop to secure her hold and 5-2. The first set is almost hers.

An ace down the T makes 30-15 but after a net-cord leaps up and over, Navarro goes away from the ball so all Badosa needs to do is prod it around the post … but instead she clouts into the net and makes things difficult for herself. Not that difficult. A quick point followed by another ace and it’s 2-4.

Badosa is improving, making 30-40 and doing really well to stick in the next point with a superb retrieval. But from there and once again, Navarro sends her to places she doesn’t want to be until there’s either an error or a chance to hit a winner; this time, it’s the former, and Navarro leads 4-1.

Badosa makes 30-0, but playing the second of those points, Navarro read her intentions, she just netted her backhand down the line. An ace follows, though … then another double … then another service-winner. She’s not happy with how she’s playing but she is on the board at 1-3.

My computer crashes, returning to life in time for me to see miserable Badosa at 40-30, having missed a chance to force a break point of her own. Instead, Navarro then rushes through a swift point to seal the game and a 3-0 lead. Badosa needs to get going quickly, or this set will be over.

Tremendous backhand winner for Badosa makes 15-0 but then Navarro seizes upon a slightly short ball, landing a backhand on to the baseline before coming in to clobber a forehand winner. But she then nets a forehand and disburses a double – P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E! – meaning she faces two break points – and another double cedes the early break! Navarro leads 2-0!

Terrific start from Navarro, who plays a really solid point for 15-0, directing Badosa about the court, then closes out to love. She’s in the match and if she can get her first return in, she’ll give her opponent something to think about about which to think.

And play, Navarro to serve.

Good news: Marion is in co-comms, and her meld of enthusiasm and analysis is extremely enjoyable.

In the studio, they’re split: Henman and Bartoli are going Navarro, Lopez Badosa. It’s a tight one, in other words.

…and here they come!

Our players are poised…

Back to today, though, who’ll win our first match? Badosa is the better player with the bigger game, such that if she plays well, it’s hard to see how Navarro beats her. But hers is a high-risk, high-reward style and if she’s nervous or imprecise, she’s playing someone more than able to punish her.

So who’s going to win these pots, then? On the women’s side, it’s hard to look beyond Aryna Sabalenka; of course Iga Swiatek can take her on a really good day, but she doesn’t love this surface so isn’t as confident as usual. Badosa could, on her best day; I think Navarro couldn’t.

The men’s feels more open, especially as the two only players left who’ve won a major, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, are playing each other. But really, almost any of them could do it from here – personally I’d love to see Grigor Dimitrov do it – it just depends who finds what they need at the time they need it.

Preamble