Coco Gauff wins Roland-Garros crown, defeats Sabalenka
It took a three-set comeback for the American to win her second Grand Slam title
Coco Gauff (Aurelien Morissard/AP/SIPA)
Coco Gauff is the Roland-Garros champion, winning her second Grand Slam title by beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.
She came back from 4-1, 40-0 down in the first set to reel off the next 12 games and ultimately lift the trophy, becoming the first American to do so since Serena Williams in 2015.
It was the first time the first and second-ranked players in the world faced each other at a Grand Slam since Caroline Wozniacki played Simona Halep at the 2018 Australian Open.
Both came into the match with 17 wins apiece on clay this season, the most on the WTA tour, so it was an appropriate showpiece.
Their most recent meeting was on the clay of Madrid just a month ago, when Sabalenka won in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (3) to take the title.
This time, it was Gauff who prevailed in an enthralling match that lasted two hours and 38 minutes, making 63 per cent of her first serves, hitting 30 winners (albeit with Sabalenka hitting 37), and taking nine of her 21 break points.
Gauff: It was one of those matches
Speaking to Sloane Stephens on television immediately afterwards, Gauff said: “It feels great. It was tough. I don’t think either of us were playing great but I knew as soon as I stepped on the court when I felt that it was windy it was going to be one of those matches, so I wanted to give myself the best chance on every point.”
Sabalenka was within a whisker of wrapping up the first set quickly, up 4-1, with Gauff attempting to match her opponent’s power and failing.
But the American thought on her feet, adjusting her tactics to stay in the match at 4-2. Sabalenka peppered her game with errors, much to her frustration, including a double fault on her first set point at 5-4, and letting another two slip before Gauff broke serve and levelled up.
It was then Gauff’s turn to crumble on serve as Sabalenka broke once more and gave herself the chance to serve out the set.
But once again the tables turned with Gauff’s sensational backhand down the line leaving Sabalenka stranded on game point, meaning the first set was settled in a tiebreak.
Gauff took the momentum with her, moving comfortably towards the net and using her backhand to great effect, and Sabalenka cut a frustrated and confused figure when 4-1 down.
Whereas once she might have imploded, this time she held her nerve, employing a variety of shots including her new drop shot to fire back, ultimately taking the first set 7-6 (5) in an epic 77 minutes.
Gauff was much quicker out of the blocks to get the job done in the second set in only 33 minutes and force a one-set shootout.
Sabalenka was clearly feeling the pressure, and widened her armoury even further by using the tweener in the third game of the decider – but it did not help her hold serve, with another double fault to give Gauff the first break.
The world No 1 wrestled her way back into contention at 3-3, but much to her astonishment she was broken to love, leaving Gauff two games from the title.
On the first championship point, Sabalenka held her nerve and fired back with a return that landed plumb on the baseline.
On the second, Gauff got it done as Sabalenka sent a shot across the court and just wide. The American fell to the floor in astonishment, and the defeated world No 1 walked round to her to offer her a hug and congratulations.
Sabalenka apologises for “terrible tennis”
Tearful when presented with her runner-up plate, Sabalenka got a great reception from the crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier; referring to the windy conditions with the roof open, she said: “This one hurts so much, after such a tough two weeks, playing great tennis in these terrible conditions, showing such terrible tennis in the final, it really hurts.
“Coco, in these tough conditions, you were better than me. Well done on a great two weeks, congrats on the second Grand Slam, well deserved here. You are a fighter and hard worker, so congrats to you and your team.”
Turning to her own team, she again apologised for her performance, and then promised, “As always, I’ll come back stronger.”
