Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title by defeating second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women’s final.
Gauff, the sixth seed, mounted a strong comeback after losing the first set, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
This victory made Gauff the first American to win a US Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
Sabalenka had a strong start but struggled with unforced errors, and Gauff capitalized on the noisy home crowd’s support.
Despite a brief medical timeout for Sabalenka, Gauff maintained her composure, clinching the title with a backhand winner and celebrating an emotional victory.
‘Different player’
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 used her mighty forehand to convert on a break point chance in the fifth game.
The Belarusian was helped to another break in the seventh as Gauff double faulted and made two more costly forehand mistakes.
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The 25-year-old Sabalenka, who will take over as world number one 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.
This is Coco Gauff in 2012 dancing at the US Open when she was 8 years old. But today, she looks to win her first Grand Slam as the youngest American US Open finalist since Serena Williams in 1999. Life is crazy.
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