Gutsy Gauff fights back to beat Sabalenka to French Open crown
COCO Gauff battled back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final for the second time with a dramatic victory in the French Open showpiece on Saturday.
The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open.
The 21-year-old more than made amends for her emotional 2022 final loss to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, outlasting Sabalenka over two hours and 38 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
'I was going through a lot of things when I lost in this final three years ago. A lot of dark thoughts, so it just means a lot to be here,' said Gauff.
'I didn't think honestly that I could do it.'
'I also felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that, when I was younger, that I felt I had the best shot of winning,' added Gauff.
'I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.'
It was a second straight Grand Slam final loss for Sabalenka after her defeat by Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January.
Gauff was rock solid after falling a set down, while Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in windy conditions in a match which followed a very similar pattern to Gauff's victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago.
'Honestly guys, it hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks when I played such great tennis in these terrible conditions,' said Sabalenka, whose unforced error tally in the final was the highest by any player in a women's match this tournament.
'To show such terrible tennis in the final, it does really hurt.'
Belarusian Sabalenka was aiming to become the only current women's player to win three of the four Grand Slam events after her US Open triumph last year and back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024.
But Gauff instead moved 6-5 ahead in their head-to-head record, proving the more consistent player in the first women's Slam final between the world's top two since Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep in Melbourne in 2018.
Only Gauff, Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova have won multiple Slam titles before turning 22 in the last 20 years.
- Marathon first set -
The 27-year-old Sabalenka quickly asserted herself, racing ahead by taking four of the first five games.
The top seed led 4-1 with a double-break in her semi-final win over Swiatek before being forced into a tie-break.
She gifted Gauff a glimmer of hope too, throwing away the sixth game from 40-0 up with two double-faults and a tame backhand into the bottom of the net.
Gauff made it 12 points in a row and levelled the set on her fifth break point of the eighth game when Sabalenka fired another groundstroke long.
She could not build on that momentum and immediately gave the break straight back.
But Sabalenka failed to serve out the set in a tense game, missing two set points -- the first with another double-fault -- as Gauff eventually extended the opener by taking her fifth break point.
Both players continued to struggle on serve in the breeze, Sabalenka breaking for fourth time in the set but again unable to close it out.
The first tie-break in the opening set of a women's French Open final since 1998 saw Sabalenka finally clinch the set after 77 minutes with a run of four straight points.
It was the longest set in a women's Grand Slam final since the Williams sisters faced off at Wimbledon in 2002 and longer than last year's final between Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini.
Gauff started the second set on the front foot, though, moving into a 4-1 lead with a double-break.
Unlike Sabalenka in the first set, Gauff saw it out with few problems, sending the match into a decider on her first set point with a confident smash at the net.
The US star also struck first blood in the third, breaking in game three as Sabalenka sent down her fifth double-fault.
Sabalenka managed to drag it back to 3-3, but immediately was broken to love as Gauff edged towards the title.
Gauff was denied on her first match point by a booming Sabalenka return onto the baseline and then had to save a break point.
But she got over the line at the second time of asking, falling to the clay in celebration.
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