Tennis-Gauff continues American renaissance by stunning Sabalenka for French Open glory
PARIS -Coco Gauff continued a spectacular season for American women at the Grand Slams when she battled from a set down to topple world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a lacklustre French Open final for a maiden Roland Garros crown on Saturday.
The 21-year-old's 6-7 6-2 6-4 victory helped her become the first American to capture the singles trophy in Paris since Serena Williams in 2015 and the youngest from the United States to achieve the feat since her decorated compatriot in 2002.
Victory, which follows colleague Madison Keys' Australian Open triumph, helped the erase memories of Gauff's crushing loss to Iga Swiatek in 2022 and confirmed her pedigree on the biggest stage after a breakthrough triumph at the 2023 U.S. Open.
"I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago," said Gauff, who has won both her major titles after rallying from a set down to beat Sabalenka.
"I'm just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts. Three finals ... I guess I got the most important win. That's all that matters," added the American who had tripped up at the final hurdle in the Madrid and Rome finals last month.
Gauff provided some comic relief later when she dropped the lid of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup while posing for a photo, before dedicating her victory to 'Americans who look like me' during her press conference.
UNFORCED ERRORS
Paris was guaranteed a new champion but the first clash between the top two women in the world rankings in a major final since the 2018 Australian Open failed to live up to its billing on Court Philippe Chatrier with 100 unforced errors in total.
Competing in her third straight Grand Slam final but first on the sport's slowest surface, Sabalenka broke to love in the third game with smart play at the net and mixed delicate drop shots and raw power to lead 4-1 in the first set.
Gauff was undeterred and broke back from 0-40 down after a shaky service game by Sabalenka and hung on to draw level after eight games as the vocal centre court crowd spurred her on to prolong the contest.
What followed was a festival of mistakes from both players in blustery conditions, before Gauff forced a tiebreak with a neat backhand winner, only to squander a 4-1 advantage as Sabalenka roared back to take the opening set.
Second seed Gauff barely flinched and she dialled up the intensity in the second set by claiming four of the opening five games and levelled the match after her opponent's staggering unforced error count climbed to 51.
"It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind, because we warmed up with the roof closed," Gauff said.
"I was like, 'this is going to be a tough day' and I knew it was just going to be about will power. It came down to the last few points, but overall I'm just really happy with the fight that I managed today.
"It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done, and that's all that matters."
WILD CELEBRATIONS
The 2022 Paris runner-up stepped up another level in the deciding set to build a 3-1 lead before Sabalenka clawed her way back, but she composed herself just in time and wrapped up the win to spark wild celebrations among her fans.
Gauff dropped to the ground in disbelief before shedding tears of joy and racing up the stands to meet her team, while Sabalenka was left to digest another major final defeat after losing the Australian Open title clash to Keys in January.
The result denied the 27-year-old the chance to become the only active woman on tour to lift singles titles at three of the four Grand Slams after her success at the Australian Open in 2023-24 and the U.S. Open last year.
"You're a fighter, a hard worker, so congratulations to you and your team," a tearful Sabalenka said.
The three-times major champion said it was a forgettable final after a solid two weeks.
"It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know how many months," Sabalenka added.
"The conditions were terrible and she simply was better in these conditions. It was the worst final I've ever played."
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