Gauff beats Sabalenka to win French Open title

Web Desk
PARIS: Coco Gauff won the first French Open singles title of her career by fighting back to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rollercoaster final.
American second seed Gauff claimed a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 victory after a tense battle between the WTA Tour’s two leading players in testing conditions.
It is the second Grand Slam singles triumph of Gauff’s career, adding to the US Open title she won in 2023, also by beating Belarus’ Sabalenka.
“I think this [Grand Slam] win was harder than the first because you don’t want to get satisfied with just that one,” said 21-year-old Gauff.
Gauff recovered from a difficult start where she trailed by a double break, eventually finding more rhythm and benefiting from a huge number of mistakes from 27-year-old Sabalenka.
“This hurts so much. Congratulations to Coco – she was a better player than me,” said Sabalenka, who was also bidding for her first Roland Garros title.
A stiff breeze played havoc with serve in the opening two sets, leading to the pair exchanging 12 breaks in an entertaining if not high-quality affair. Gauff, who lost in the 2022 final, settled quicker in the deciding third set to move a break up and kept her nerve to serve out victory.
She had to survive another break point before winning her second championship point, falling to the clay on her back when Sabalenka pushed a forehand wide.
With her parents Candi and Corey dancing euphorically in the stands, Gauff shared an affectionate hug with Sabalenka before running off court to celebrate with her family.
Coco Gauff, the 21-year-old American tennis star, has defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open women’s singles final to claim the second Grand Slam title of her young career.
Saturday’s final between Sabalenka and Gauff, who are respectively ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, was the first Grand Slam women’s final to feature the world’s top two players since 2018. Gauff is the first American champion at the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
“I don’t think either of us were playing great,” Gauff said in an interview with TNT after the match. “But I knew as soon as I stepped on to the court when I felt that it was windy that it would be one of those matches. So I was just trying to give myself the best chance and fight every point.”