Emma Navarro used to think that winning a single match at this year’s US Open would qualify as a success. However, she leaves New York believing she has what it takes to be a grand slam champion.

With her understated demeanor, the 23-year-old has quietly emerged as a force in American women’s tennis and proved it with impressive wins over Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday’s semi-final.

“Winning a grand slam is something that even just a few months ago was not really on my radar,” Navarro told reporters. “So to now be in a position where I’m thinking about and working towards winning Grand Slams is exciting. It’s motivating.”

By reaching the semis of a major for the first time Navarro will break into the world’s top 10, taking the world number eight spot after the tournament.

“It’s pretty crazy and I think it’s a testament to a lot of hard work,” she said.

“Definitely leaving with a lot of positives.”

While second-seed Sabalenka emerged with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) victory the match felt closer than the scoreline indicates. Instead of hanging her head, Navarro sounded eager to use the lessons she learned in her first-ever night match on Arthur Ashe Stadium going forward.

“I wasn’t ready for the match to be over there at 5-3,” she said. “I really wanted to stick in there and keep playing. The crowd got into it, which was awesome.

“It was maybe a little bit of a learning curve out there, feeling like, okay, I can win this, I’m in this.

“I’m obviously playing a great opponent, but I can push back against her serve and I can get ahead in points and play the aggressive game.”