American beats Aryna Sabalenka with great comeback to win her first Grand Slam title
American Coco GoughAt only 19 years old, she showed her great ambitions in women’s tennis and defeated the Belarusian player Alina Sabalenka And be crowned this Saturday US Open Conquered his first “Grand Slam”. Gauff made a magnificent comeback against Sabalenka (2), who will become the new WTA No. 1 next week, and won the championship (with an additional $3 million in prize money) at Flushing Meadows 2-6, 6-3 in two hours After six minutes, the score was 6-2.
The young African-American from Florida, known as the heir apparent to the sisters Serena and Venus Williams, will move up the world rankings on Monday after an unforgettable afternoon. to third place. Arthur Ashe Stadium New Yorkers fully supported her in this historic victory.
In this final, the “great” New Yorker could not have a more formidable opponent than her, because Sabalenka, the great ruler of this year’s women’s tour, has reached the semi-finals of the Final Four.grand slam‘ and won three events (Australian Open, Adelaide and Madrid).
Goff will also be on the court Monday with his partner No. 1 doubles player Jessica Pegulais the third American player under the age of 20 to win the U.S. Open (along with Serena Williams and Tracy Austin).
She is also the youngest American to reach the New York finals since Serena Williams in 1999.
She also removed a thorn that had been nagging her since 2022, when she lost her first Grand Slam final to Poland’s Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.
After a surprise first-round exit at last Wimbledon, she started as the seventh seed and had a fantastic summer in Washington, her first Masters 1,000 event (Cincinnati). A win and now her first ‘big’ is in the display case.
Goff also won a championship with Oakland earlier this year (four of four heading into the 2023 finals), and he’s also won 12 games in a row, the best streak of his career to date, pointing to unlimited.
Sabalenka had a tough start in the semifinals, with a painful start to the first set against Madison Keys (17) forcing her to seek an epic comeback in three sets.
It was the exact opposite this afternoon, with the Belarusian starting strong, dominating with his right hand in the backcourt against Goff who was forced to defend himself and keep running.
Very aggressive, Sabalenka She had a “breakthrough” in the first game against Gauff, who continued to give her everything, made great sacrifices, and most importantly, ran from side to side along the back of the court Kilometer after kilometer.
One point in particular summed up the first set: Gauff, who is undoubtedly one of the most athletic tennis players on tour, made three miraculous saves in a row that seemed like the winner, while Sasha Barenka needed a fourth shot to win. Get it done.
Gauff returned to break serve (2-2), but Sabalenka did not take her foot off the accelerator, adding two more breaks and ending the first set after 40 minutes.
The Florida tennis player did not give up and she reacted against Sabalenka in the second set, who continued to hit hard shots but was plagued by unforced errors (16 in the set) unforced errors, while Goff only had 7).
Encouraged by the stands, Goff regained his confidence, making crosses, backhand passes and other wonderful shots that even Sabalenka himself was full of praise for.
Gauff took the lead with a break of serve and tied the score to 3-1, but Sabalenka chose to break in the next game and was confident of a comeback in the stands, pushing the game to the third set.
The joy on the court transferred to the court, where Gauff began to melt away Sabalenka, who committed 16 unforced errors in the third set.
Instead, the very confident, very serious, absolutely focused Gauff walked to the net, broke serve twice in a row (4-0), and clenched his fists, knowing that glory was within his reach.
The disruption to Sabalenka’s medical aid did little to calm Gauff, who was no longer looking in the rearview mirror to seal his first win in a “major” tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It turned into a big party.