Coco Gauff admits French Open win ‘wasn't pretty' after beating Aryna Sabalenka
A stiff breeze swirled around Court Philippe-Chatrier and contributed to a combined total of 100 unforced errors and 15 breaks of serve.
It was Gauff who coped better with the conditions to add the Roland Garros title to her 2023 US Open crown.
Gauff coped better with the windy conditions (Jon Buckle/PA)
'it was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,' she said.
'I was, like, 'this is going to be a tough day', and I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental.
'It really 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.'
It was the first time the top two women's seeds had contested a Roland Garros final since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in 2013.
Sabalenka edged a tie-break to win the opening set, which at 77 minutes lasted nine minutes longer than the entire match the last time Gauff was in the Roland Garros final, a chastening 6-1 6-3 defeat by Iga Swiatek three years ago.
But at the start of the second Gauff inflicted a fifth successive break of the Sabalenka serve and finished it with an overhead
Gauff was the more composed player by now and edged a break ahead in the decider, while Sabalenka moodily eyeballed her coaching team in the players' box.
Sabalenka won the first set but could not halt the comeback (Jon Buckle/PA)
Sabalenka drew level at 3-3 but promptly double-faulted to give Gauff three break points, and she dispatched the first with another precise swish of her backhand.
At 5-3 the 27-year-old Belarusian bravely held to make Gauff serve the match out.
In keeping with the previous two hours and 38 minutes, a match point came and went, as did a break point.
But when the second chance arrived and Sabalenka swung wide, an elated, tearful Gauff fell to the clay as she celebrated a stunning win.
Sabalenka, a vivacious presence throughout the fortnight both in person and via her social media output, was an uncharacteristically ungracious loser.
'I mean, honestly sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame,' she said.
'Somehow, magically the ball lands in the court, and you're kind of on the back foot.
'It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just staying there laughing, like, 'let's see if you can handle this'.
'I was just making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes, kind of like from easy balls.'
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