French Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 2 Coco Gauff in the women's final
PARIS (AP) — No.1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 2 Coco Gauff in the French Open final on Saturday with both women aiming to win the title for the first time.
Gauff lost the 2022 French Open final at age 18 but the American beat Sabalenka in the 2023 U.S. Open final, Gauff's only major so far.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, has won three majors but is appearing in her first French Open final.
It is the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
Sabalenka and Gauff have split their 10 previous matchups evenly, but Sabalenka won their most recent encounter, also on a clay court at the Madrid Open a month ago. ___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
Aryna Sabalenka's ‘terrible' French Open final and the intangibles of tennis
ROLAND GARROS, PARIS — Aryna Sabalenka made no effort to hide her disappointment after losing the French Open final to Coco Gauff Saturday, repeatedly calling her performance 'terrible' and saying it was 'the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know how many months.' 'It's just a joke,' she said. Advertisement She offered that analysis once she'd left Court Philippe-Chatrier, after a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 defeat. In her on-court interview, Sabalenka eschewed the usual platitudes and the customary opening line congratulating the winner and their team, and went straight for self-flagellation. After fighting back tears, she said: 'Honestly guys this will hurt so much, especially after such a tough two weeks, playing great tennis and in these terrible conditions playing such terrible tennis in the final — that really hurts.' 'Coco, congrats in these tough conditions. You were the better player than me. Congrats on a great two weeks,' she said. In her news conference, Sabalenka went for the jugular again. This time, she focused not on her own shortcomings, but on the weather conditions that had defined the type of tennis being played. 'Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. I think it was the worst final I ever played.' Sabalenka's devastation was understandable. She is the world No. 1 and has now lost two Grand Slam finals in a row, both in three sets, both having been the big favorite. Five months ago, Madison Keys beat her in Melbourne to win her first major, and in Paris Gauff thwarted Sabalenka's bid for the non hard-court slam that would rubberstamp her evolution into an all-court player. The match was on her racket, but Sabalenka hit 70 unforced errors compared to just 37 winners as she struggled to cope with the factors outside of her control. Namely the wind, an inspired Gauff and the pressure of what was at stake. Given the chance to praise Gauff's inspired defensive showing, Sabalenka said that her opponent had won the match 'by running and playing those high balls from the frame,' before saying directly that Gauff had framed, or mishit, numerous shots. Advertisement 'She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court … Yeah, it's just, you know, like — 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 think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from if you look from the outside, from easy balls.' Tennis is seen as a 50-50 battle, but matchups and gamestyles mean that this is not always the case. Gauff won Saturday's final by assuming the role of supporting actor to Sabalenka the protagonist, knowing that the match was not on her racket and making her greatest assets — her court coverage, lateral movement, and baseline defense — the most important things in the match. She played the conditions. Sabalenka did not, saying afterward that as the match wore on and it got windier, she became 'overemotional.' She compared her unraveling to the last time she played Gauff in a Grand Slam final, at the U.S. Open two years ago. 'Another terrible performance from me against Coco in the final,' she said. Sabalenka added that had the four-time champion Iga Świątek beaten her in Thursday's semifinal, 'I think she would go out today and she would get the win.' In her own news conference, Gauff responded. 'I mean, I don't agree with that. I'm here sitting here,' she said. 'Last time I played — no shade to Iga or anything, but I played her and I won in straight sets. Yeah, I don't think that's a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.' This leaves Sabalenka in a strange place. She remains world No. 1 by a distance, but she hasn't won a Grand Slam title and has been way below her best level in both finals. Throughout the match, she seemed uncomfortable with the shifts in momentum occasioned, in part, by the complicated conditions. But a similar shift happened against Świątek: in both matches, Sabalenka led 4-1, had a point for 5-1, and was pulled back into a tiebreak, one under the roof and one in the open air. Against Świątek under the roof, Sabalenka reset, one less intangible to fight. Against Gauff, the collection of intangibles — the weather, the stakes, the history — appeared to overwhelm her. Advertisement And for regular watchers of her matches, her reaction to Saturday's defeat was essentially an extension of how she reacts to smaller moments of disappointment within matches: berating herself and not accepting that occasionally her opponents will be too good. This kind of mentality is part of what drives great champions. But is showing it always helpful? Her performance coach Jason Stacy was asked this question in a news conference Friday and pointed to one of the team's mantras: 'Don't fight it, don't feed it.' He expanded by saying: 'We don't want to fight this, because the stress, anxiety, the pressure, the mistakes, all those things are going to be there, so you can't pretend it's not going to be a thing, but you don't want to feed it either and give it too much energy or power.' Asked if Sabalenka's frustrations were a boost, Gauff said that she didn't read too much into it, but: 'Obviously when you see your opponent frustrated in any circumstance, if it's tough or not, obviously it does uplift you just because you know that they're frustrated.' Sabalenka will head to the Greek island of Mykonos to recharge and in her words indulge in 'tequila, gummy bears, and swimming.' She laughed as she said that she would be 'like the tourist for couple of days'. But even as she tried to lighten the mood and look ahead to her holiday, she couldn't help but go back to lambasting the events of the previous few hours. 'I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and this crazy — if I could swear, I would swear right now, about this crazy thing that happened today,' she said. 'I think everyone understands. I'm just trying to be very polite right now, but there is no other word that could describe what just happened today on the court.' All things being equal, Sabalenka is undoubtedly the best player in the world. But tennis matches are not equal. It's how she manages the intangibles that can shape them that will define the next phase of her career.
San Francisco Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sabalenka rues another missed chance against Gauff in French Open final: 'This one hurts so much'
PARIS (AP) — While Coco Gauff was taking selfies on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate her triumph on the Parisian clay, her opponent on the other side of the umpire's chair was filled with anger and sadness. As Roland-Garros officials prepared the court for the trophy ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka sat with her gaze lost in the distance before she took a towel and covered her face. And when it finally came time to speak, Sabalenka was silent for a long moment, as if on the verge of tears. The assessment of her own performance, when she finally took the microphone to address the Roland-Garros crowd, was ruthless. 'Honestly guys, this one hurts so much," she said. 'To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt.' The top-ranked Sabalenka won the first set as her high-risk approach brought dividends initially. But once Gauff found her stride, the Belarusian's errors became more and more frequent and she lost the match between the world's two highest-ranked players 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the match with a staggering 70 unforced errors — compared to Gauff's 30. Sabalenka also dropped her serve nine times. 'I think I was overemotional,' she said. 'I didn't really handle myself quite well mentally, I would say. So basically that's it. 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 from — like, if you look from the outside, kind of like from easy balls." The disappointment was even greater given that Sabalenka has worked hard to adapt her game to the slow surface over the years, and after she ended Iga Swiatek's 26-match unbeaten streak at the French Open in the semifinals. 'You've been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion, Iga, and then you go out, and you play really bad,' she said during her post-match interview. 'It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know how many months." Sabalenka also complained about the weather conditions. The retractable roof over the center court remained open during the final, and Sabalenka was visibly annoyed by bursts of wind sweeping across the court. 'Conditions were terrible," the three-time major champion said. 'When she would hit the ball, at some point the wind would just let the ball fly like crazy, and you know, I was late every time.' This was the second major final Sabalenka lost to Gauff, after the 2023 U.S. Open, where she also won the first set. Sabalenka had won their most recent meeting on clay this year in Madrid and thought she had the weapons to beat the American on the biggest stage. 'It's another tough Grand Slam final against Coco,' Sabalenka said. 'Another terrible performance from me against Coco in the final. I have to step back, look at this from a perspective, and try to finally learn the lesson, because I cannot go out there every time against her in Grand Slam finals and play such terrible tennis and give those wins, not easily, but emotionally.' ___
San Francisco Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Kane saves England from embarrassment against Andorra in World Cup qualifying
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — England needed a second-half goal from Harry Kane to secure a 1-0 win over lowly Andorra and maintain a perfect record under Thomas Tuchel after three World Cup qualifiers on Saturday. England was held scoreless by a team ranked 173rd in the world until Kane redirected a pass from Noni Madueke into the top of the net in the 50th minute after the Bayern Munich striker's initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Iker Álvarez. 'We need to be better for sure,' Kane said. 'It's not one that many will remember, and we had good spells, but we take the three points and move on.' It was goal No. 72 in his 106th appearance for the Three Lions. Tuchel's side remained top of Europe's Group K with nine points after wins against Albania and Latvia. They have yet to concede a goal under the German coach. Andorra remained winless but managed to frustrate England's stars for most of the game with its five-man defensive line. Ezri Konsa had to block a late shot by Andorra's Guillaume Lopez to prevent the chance of an equalizer. 'We kept giving it away and that gave them a bit of confidence and energy,' Kane said. "At 1-0 with five to 10 minutes to go you have to be careful.' England dominated possession and Eberechi Eze went close to a second goal when he forced Álvarez to tip his header of the bar as the visitors couldn't extend the lead. England had won its previous six meetings with Andorra by a combined score of 25-0. The game was played at Espanyol's stadium in Barcelona, nearly three hours south of the Pyrenees principality — which has a population of around 80,000 — due to concerns that work on Andorra's home stadium wouldn't be finished in time. Only the group winners qualify directly for next year's tournament in North America. The second-placed teams go into a playoffs. Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for the World Cup. The group stage of European qualifying runs through November. Veteran Dzeko scores for Bosnia A goal from 39-year-old Edin Dzeko gave Bosnia and Herzegovina a 1-0 win over San Marino. Lithuania was held 0-0 at Malta in Group G. ___
