2023-09-10 00:59:39
It’s just under 6:30 p.m. this Saturday evening in New York. In France, Saturday gave way to Sunday September 10 and the American Coco Gauff won the US Open. At only 19 years old – she was born in March 2004 – the player from Atlanta beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Already a finalist in 2022 at Roland-Garros against Iga Swiatek, the new American tennis prodigy won her first Grand Slam tournament at the same time.
However, everything had started badly for her. Sabalenka quickly took control of the game almost too easily. The Belarusian inflicted 4 games in a row on her rival to win 6-2. She was then thought to be on the royal road against a young opponent drowned in a setting too big for her. And then not at all. Impassive face, Coco Gauff returned to the game and with what panache. Aryna Sabalenka lost two break points at the start of the second set and then completely melted away. She multiplied the unforced errors and suddenly seemed totally lost on the court. Gauff won the second round (6-3) to come back to the score and plunge his opponent into doubt. We do not know it yet at that time but the match is over, the suspense destroyed. Aryna Sabalenka does not have the means to return to the match. She remains lost, victim of a pain in the left thigh which requires a massage in the middle of the set. A start? No, nothing helps. Coco Gauff is on her planet and never comes back down.
“This is the first time I’ve seen my father cry”
She triumphed by crucifying the Belarusian 6-2 in front of her family and a host of Hollywood stars. She’s America’s new darling. Aryna Sabalenka will console herself on Monday morning by taking a look at the new WTA rankings. Despite this defeat, in two days she will be the new world number 1. Gauff the number 3. “It means so much to me., reacts the latter I am a little in a state of shock: this is the first time that I have seen my father cry. Last year, losing in the final at Roland-Garros was hard to take. There, this moment is really very sweet. I feel truly blessed in this life. I knew I had to fight to get back into the match, I had no choice and I succeeded.”
In 2023, she is the fourth player to lift one of the four Grand Slam trophies. Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open. The Polish Iga Swiatek triumphed at Roland-Garros before the Czech Markéta Vondroušová won at Wimbledon. However, the future queen of the circuit may have hatched on the hard court Arthur Ashe. Her name is Coco Gauff.
#Open #Coco #Gauff #history #victory #final #Sabalenka