Emilio Nava, Brayden Schnur Advance to Quarterfinals at Charlottesville Challenger

November 3—Emilio Nava had a storied career in juniors, yet he always felt that he was never favored to win. That’s changing.

After surviving three sets against the Charlottesville Challenger’s defending champion yesterday, he scored a comeback win against Go Soeda to advance to the quarterfinals of this event in Central Virginia today.

“I’ve been fighting these guys for a while and playing a lot of Challengers this year, In the beginning, I was always the underdog, and I still keep that mentality in every match I go to,” he told me after the 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 win in the round of 16.

Even though the crowd was sparse, Nava made up for it as a crowd of one. He was juiced up on every point.

“Obviously, a crowd helps a lot, but when I’m in there, I’m all by myself, like a Gladiator down there,” he said.

“I’m fighting for myself. If there’s one person or a thousand or even a million, I’m always going to be the same way.”

Former North Carolina star Brayden Schnur survived a tricky Christian Harrison to book his spot in the quarterfinals. Despite four Challenger finals appearances and a 2019 final appearance at the New York Open (ATP 250), he’s still waiting to be called a champion. A runner-up here in Charlottesville two years ago, he’s now three wins away from walking away with the big hardware.

Though their next opponents are yet to be determined, both men will be on court for Friday’s quarterfinals.