I'm good with Coco: Sabalenka buries Gauff fall-out
Wimbledon top seed Aryna Sabalenka says she has cleared the air with Coco Gauff after she raised eyebrows with her remarks in the aftermath of her French Open final loss to the American.
An emotional Sabalenka described the match as the "worst tennis" she had played for many months and that her mistakes, rather than Gauff's excellence, had been the decisive factor.
Sabalenka wrote to Gauff to apologise soon after, labelling her remarks "unprofessional" and the two rivals were seen chatting happily on the Wimbledon practice courts this week.
"We've always been really good with Coco. Honestly, as I said in the statement and I messaged to her, I didn't really want to offend her," said Sabalenka, 27, who is aiming for her first Wimbledon title.
"I was just completely, like, upset with myself, and emotions got over me. I just completely lost it.
"Of course, she's got my respect. She knew it. She knows it. I'm happy that she was, like, 'yeah, it's all good, don't worry.' I was talking, we are good, we are friends. I hope the US media can be easy on me right now.
"I did what I did. I get what I deserved, I believe. It was a tough time for me," she added, saying she has immersed herself in reading books to take her mind off her Paris heartache.
Gauff won that error-strewn French final 6-7(5-7) 6-2 6-4 and is seeded No.2 at Wimbledon and the likelihood is that their compelling rivalry could continue in the final in a fortnight.
Asked whether she would relish the chance to avenge the loss by beating Gauff in the Wimbledon final, Sabalenka sounded unsure.
"I don't know, in this case maybe I don't want to see Coco if I make it to the finals. But if she's going to be there, I'm happy because I want to get the revenge!", said Sabalenka, who starts on Monday against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine
Gauff has an added reason to achieve Wimbledon success, the completion of a rare Channel Slam.
The last woman to achieve the Channel Slam -- winning Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year -- was Serena Williams, who accomplished the feat in 2002 and 2015.
The 21-year-old Gauff, who became the first American woman since Williams in 2015 to win on the Roland Garros clay, said: "I understand why it (a Channel Slam) hasn't been done that often. Except I guess Carlos (Alcaraz), he makes it look pretty easy. Novak (Djokovic), too. I didn't realise it was 10 years since Serena.I would love to do that."
Meanwhile Jessica Pegula showed she could be a Wimbledon contender as she beat five-time major champion Iga Swiatek 6-4 7-5 in the final of the Bad Homburg Open.
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