Queen of York: Teenager Coco Gauff fights back to beat Sabalenka and win US Open

NEW YORK, September 10

Teenager Coco Gauff mounted a fierce comeback to beat Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the US Open women’s final on Saturday night, claiming her first Grand Slam title and cementing her place in American tennis royalty.

6 Gauff ended a six-year wait by becoming the first American to win a US Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017

19 Unforced errors by Gauff compared to 46 by Sabalenka. Gauff only needed 13 winners to accumulate 83 points

18 Victories for Gauff in her last 19 matches. She has won 12 in a row

With the win, sixth seed Gauff became the first American to win a US Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017. Gauff, 19, fed off noisy local support as she fought back in the second set and kept the momentum going until the end of the battle, before falling to the court on Arthur Ashe Stadium as she clinched the title with a backhand winner.

Great expectations

The win delivered on years of enormous expectations hoisted upon the young American Gauff’s shoulders after she became the youngest ever to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw at 15 years old. “People were putting a lot of pressure on me to win. I felt that at 15 I had to win a Slam at 15,” said Gauff. “I felt like I had a time limit on when I should win one, and if I won one after a certain age it wouldn’t be an achievement.”

Sabalenka had a superb start but could not keep the momentum going as unforced errors piled up and she closed her 2023 Grand Slam run, which included an Australian Open title and semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, on a disappointing note.

Burning bright

A month ago I won a 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest it was gonna get. So three weeks later I am here with this trophy right now... To those who thought they were putting water on my fire you were really adding gas to it and now I am burning so bright. Coco Gauff

“It doesn’t get more dramatic than that,” said Gauff, who lost in her only previous Major final appearance last year at Roland Garros. “I knew today was going to be one of those problem-solving, tough matches because she’s a tough opponent.”

There were early signs of nervousness from both players as Gauff was broken in the opening game and the Belarusian dropped serve in the fourth game. The crowd urged on Gauff, the first American teenager to reach the US Open singles final since Serena Williams in 2001. But Sabalenka blocked out the noise and won the opening set.

The 25-year-old Sabalenka, who will take over as world No. 1 in the new rankings, had ended Gauff’s run at Indian Wells earlier this year but told reporters this week she expected a “different player” in Saturday’s final.

She ended up facing just that in the second set, as the American showed new resolve when she fended off a pair of break points in the first game and flipped the script. What was once a lopsided affair turned into a battle as Gauff increased her intensity, sending Sabalenka scrambling around the court in the fourth game before the Belarusian dropped her serve with a double fault.

Gauff produced an overhead smash to break in the opening game of the third set and converted another in the third game. Sabalenka took a medical timeout after the fifth game, consulting a physio for an apparent issue with her left thigh, but did not appear worse off as she broke in the next game.

If Gauff was rattled, however, she did not show it, winning a 20-shot rally before breaking back in the seventh game and soaking up the adoration of the crowd at the Major she grew up watching as she clinched the title.

After offering her opponent a hug, Gauff burst into tears and embraced her parents in the stands. “The whole time I was saying to myself, ‘Oh, my goodness, how is this real?’” she told reporters. “When I sat down after hugging them back before the ceremony, it felt real in that moment, but when I was going to hug them it didn’t. I almost forgot to shake the ref’s hand. It was a crazy moment.” — Reuters

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