Coco Gauff Wins US Open: Teenage sensation Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the US Open women’s singles final on Saturday. The 19-year-old came from behind to edge the second seed hard-hitter in three sets, 2-6 6-3 6-2, to join Tracy Austin and Serena Williams as the Americans who won the US Open as teenagers.
Gauff completed a splendid turnaround from exiting the first round in Wimbledon in July to winning three titles in the US – Citi Open in Washington, Cincinnati Open and the US Open. The victory also ended the American’s heartbreak of losing the French Open final last year. Gauff’s poise under pressure enabled her to win the match over Sabalenka, who next week will take over as World No1. The upset victory stunned world tennis betting sites that gave in to Sabalenka’s power game and paid dearly to their forecast that the American will have no match to her Belarusian counterpart.
Coco Gauff Wins US Open: Coming Back From a Set Down
Gauff, who became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history at age 15 and made the fourth round of the tournament in 2019, was out of sorts early on and Sabalenka took advantage by breaking her serve with a backhand that handed the Belarusian a 1-0 lead. She easily held on to her serve to take a 2-0 lead. Gauff made it 2-2 as she broke Sabalenka on the fourth game, thanks to the Belarusian’s error-plagued game.
Sabalenka, the 2023 Australian Open champion, bounced back with her second break of the set to make it 3-2. The next game saw the American claiming two break points but the World No2 came back, smacking an ace to force a deuce and smashed a shot while having the advantage to take a 4-2 edge. Sabalenka eased through the set as she broke Gauff for the third time and held her serve in the eighth game at 6-2.
Gauff Triumphs in Epic Comeback to Seal Victory Over Sabalenka
Gauff made adjustments in the second set to force a decider. She made fewer unforced errors and changed her serving style. On the other side, Sabalenka failed to capitalize on her serve as she was broken in the fourth game and allowed the sixth-seeded Gauff to take a 3-1 edge. The Florida native kept her poise in the fifth game and fended off a break point for a 4-1 edge. She was able to level the match when Sabalenka when her forehand went outside.
The American raced to a 4-0 lead in the decider as she broke Sabalenka’s serve in the first and third games while holding on in the second and fourth games. The Belarusian held on in the next game to cut the lead to 1-4. Sabalenka further reduce the deficit to 2-4 as she broke Gauff’s serve. But that was her last hurrah as the American took her third break of the set for a 5-2 advantage and scored four straight points, including a backhand shot, to conclude the match at 6-2.
Amazing Turnaround
The championship win gave Gauff USD3 million and has gone 18-1 since losing in the first round at Wimbledon. This includes 12 straight wins since working with new coaches Brad Gilbert and Pere Riba. The US Open victory will also put the American to No3 in women’s singles. The 19-year-old only had 19 unforced errors and needed just 13 winners to accumulate 83 points. She took advantage of Sabalenka’s 46 unforced errors that proved to be the Belarusian’s undoing.
It was only the second loss of Sabalenka in 25 major events. Despite the setback, the 25-year-old Australian Open winner will move to World No1 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings next week. Before reaching the US Open final, Gauff won over Laura Siegemund, Mirra Andreeva, Elise Mertens, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Muchova. Gauff just lost four sets in seven games and became the third American teenager to win the last Grand Slam event of the year following Tracy Austin and Serena Williams.
Gauff’s victory in the US Open meant that there is no two-time Grand Slam winner in the women’s singles category this year. The result was a shock for fans who had Sabalenka as one of their top pick in online sportsbooks that cover the last major event for tennis in 2023. The 19-year-old’s first Grand Slam win in the US Open hopes to be the start of more major titles for Gauff, who could dominate the world tennis scene in the coming years. Sabalenka and Gauff will continue to be top favorites for 2024 as the women’s tennis scene is wide open with other world-caliber players looking to secure a title to improve on their stock in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.
