The young American star shone at the US Open. Gauff celebrates her maiden Grand Slam title after final turnaround

Two weeks of fighting in the women’s singles main draw at the US Open culminated in Saturday’s final. Home team Cori Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the title match. The Belarusian did not win her second Grand Slam title, while the American triumphed for the first time at a “Big Four” event thanks to a successful turnaround.

The 19-year-old American tennis talent made it through to the final after a 6-4 and 7-5 win over Karolina Muchova on Thursday. In the previous rounds, Gauff defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva, Belgium’s Elise Mertens, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.

The six years older Sabalenka lost a single set on her way to the final when Madison Keys of the USA gave her a “canary” in the opening semifinal set. One of the best tennis players of today turned the unfavourable situation around with two well-handled tiebreaks.

The native of Minsk had earlier defeated Maryna Zanevskaya of Belgium, Jodie Burrage of Great Britain, Clara Burel of France, Daria Kasatkina of Russia and Cheng Qin-wen of China.

The finalists took to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court after 10 p.m. CET on Saturday under a cloudy roof due to inclement weather. In an opening set full of unforced errors on both sides, a break in the fifth game was crucial.

It was reached by Sabalenka, who then took advantage of another break point. Thanks to a second set point on her own serve, she was able to celebrate a 6:2 partial win after forty minutes of the match.

The young American, whose first name is often used instead of Coco, had a better start to the next game. She took a 4:1 lead thanks to the fact that she did not make so many mistakes.

Gauff did not let the physically demanding encounter turn around in the rest of the second set and tied the match at 1:1 with a final score of 6:3. The champion of this year’s New York Grand Slam had to be decided in the third set.

The home player brought her game comfort and mental superiority to the match, caused by the strong spectator support from the crowded stands of the 23,771-seat stadium. The Atlanta-born tennis player took her opponent’s first serve.

Moments later, another break followed, giving her a 4:0 lead. After Sabalenka was able to reduce the deficit, she took time for treatment. During that time, she had her thigh muscles massaged.

However, Cori Gauff did not let the break derail her and calmly finished the set to a final score of 6: 2. At the end of the two-hour battle, she was able to enjoy her first Grand Slam triumph.

After five titles on the WTA circuit, she shone for the first time at a major. She is the first winner of the Flushing Meadows event from the USA since 2017, when Sloane Stephens won. In addition to the three million dollars in prize money, Gauff is set to move up to third in the singles rankings.

The reigning Australian Open 2023 champion Aryna Sabalenka did not add a second Grand Slam trophy to her collection. She can at least take solace in the world number one position, where she will replace Poland’s Iga Świątek on Monday. The Belarusian star has dominated the doubles rankings in the past.

Source: WTA, Eurosport, live-tennis.eu