Tears after a big comeback
New York trembles: Gauff triumphs at the US Open
September 10, 2023, 12:37 a.m
The American Coco Gauff celebrated the greatest success of her young career at the US Open and secured her first Grand Slam title. In the final, the crowd favorite prevailed against the upcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought final.
At the goal of her dreams, Coco Gauff fell into her family’s arms with tears of joy and was celebrated by the frenetic fans in New York. The crowd favorite, just 19 years old, won his first Grand Slam title in front of a spectacular backdrop at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the final of the US Open, Gauff played a competitive game and beat the upcoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus 2:6, 6:3, 6:2.
“It means so much to me and I’m a bit in shock. I’m just grateful for this moment and have no words,” said Gauff at the award ceremony, before kissing the silver trophy and raising it to the sky. “You played incredibly,” praised Sabalenka, who had to struggle with her emotions.
After 2:08 hours, Gauff converted her first match point in her second major final and secured the first US New York title since 2017, when Sloane Stephens triumphed. She secured three million dollars in prize money and will rise to third in the world rankings thanks to her success on Monday. Australian Open winner Sabalenka, on the other hand, has to wait for her second Grand Slam title, but will still replace Iga Swiatek as leader of the WTA rankings on Monday. Swiatek, who defeated Gauff in the final at the 2022 French Open, had already surprisingly failed in the round of 16 against Jelena Ostapenko.
“…but the job isn’t done yet”
“It means a lot to me, but the job is not done yet,” Gauff said after her confident 6:4, 7:5 over the Czech French Open finalist Karolina Muchova. After choosing sides with women’s tennis pioneer Billie Jean King, Sabalenka first dominated the action on the blue hard court and grabbed the break to make it 1-0.
In the following minutes, the spectators around basketball superstar Kevin Durant in the usual prominent stands saw a match of a moderate level, which Sabalenka continued to dominate despite numerous mistakes. The nervousness seemed to be particularly evident in Gauff, the first teenager in the US Open final since Serena Williams in 2001 – the nation’s hopes weighed heavily on her shoulders.
“No security in their groundstrokes”
“Gauff only runs from corner to corner – she has no security in her groundstrokes,” said Boris Becker at the Sportdeutschland microphone. Sabalenka, on the other hand, found her power tennis towards the end of the first set and won the set after just 39 minutes. Gauff, with the goal of emulating her great idol, the six-time New York winner Serena Williams, for the first time, then took a short break – and was successful. When she was ahead with a break for the first time against the now faulty Sabalenka, the largest tennis stadium in the world shook, just as it did after Gauff won the set a little later.
In the decisive round, the 19-year-old finally took control. Sabalenka, who had her thigh treated shortly before the end, had nothing to counter Gauff in the ensuing battle of nerves.