The American nugget Coco Gauff won the US Open tournament on Saturday, September 9, beating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2-6, 6-3, 6-2) in the final. The 6th player in the world won her first Grand Slam title at just 19 years old.
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Big first for Cori “Coco” Gauff. Unhappy finalist of the 2022 edition of Roland-Garros, the tenniswoman did not experience the same misadventure at home, Saturday September 9, 2023, for her first final of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Having never made it past the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows in her first five appearances, the American won in straight sets in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.
Coco Gauff is the youngest American to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999, when she won the first of her six titles at Flushing Meadows. The young Floridian ends in fireworks an American summer tour launched by a flamboyant month of August with two titles at stake: Washington and the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, where she beat world number 1, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals. .
Aryna Sabalenka, 25, also played her first final in New York after losing in the semi-finals of the last two editions. She tried throughout the match to overwhelm Gauff, but the American’s defense got the better of the Belarusian who scuttled herself with unforced errors (46 in total against 19 for Gauff).
One set to understand, two to win
However, at the start of the final, the Atlanta native, supported by the 24,000 spectators of the Arthur-Ashe court, including director Spike Lee or NBA player Kevin Durant, actresses Diane Keaton and Nicole Kidman, was completely overwhelmed. by Sabalenka who, with her powerful big shots, immediately took the game on her own, while the American was content to put the ball back, if possible in the court.
But the Belarusian, despite winning the first set, made so many unforced errors that she kept her opponent in the game. Gauff did not give up, realizing that it was enough for him to make his opponent play. And in the second set, she managed the break to lead 3-1 by taking advantage of a double fault from Sabalenka. A 16th unforced error of the set from his opponent allowed him to equalize at one set everywhere.
In the process, the American, carried by her momentum, took her opponent’s serve twice. Sabalenka ended up stopping the spiral and winning her service game, but brought the doctor onto the court to have the inside of her left thigh massaged, showing the face of a player who was at least as resigned as she was suffering.
However, when play resumed, she made one of her late breaks again. But Coco Gauff won the next two games, to go and lift a prestigious trophy which propelled her to the podium of women’s tennis. Radiant, the champion of the day savored her trophy and launched into the microphone: “ Those who wanted to put water in my gas, you have only poured gasoline on my brazier and today, I shine with a thousand lights! » Here she is, the new world number 3 and with a new status on the women’s circuit.
(et with AFP)