Coco Gauff, who is ranked as the 10th best women’s singles player in the world, just won a big tennis match. She was playing against Aryna Sabalenka, who is ranked second. Gauff started off not so well, but then she came back and won with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, where the match took place, cheered loudly for Gauff. This victory is really special for her because it’s the first time she’s won such an important tournament. She’s only 19 years old, and she’s the first American teenager to win this tournament since Serena Williams did it in 1999.
After the match, Gauff said, “I can’t believe it. It feels like a dream. Sometimes in life, you go through hard times, but they make moments like this even better.” She was very emotional when she said this.
Coco Gauff said thank you to her family, her team, and even the people who didn’t think she could do it.
At first, Aryna Sabalenka, who is going to be the best women’s player in the world soon, played really well. She won the first part of the match easily, with a score of 6-2. She did this by breaking Coco Gauff’s serve three times.
But, with the crowd cheering for Coco and saying “Let’s go Coco,” she got stronger in the second part of the match. She even got a break and won that part with a score of 6-3. This made them go into a third and final part of the match to see who would win.
Gauff played really well in the third part of the match. She got ahead by a lot and was getting closer to winning her first big tournament. Even though Sabalenka won a couple of games after that, Gauff finished strong and won. This makes her the 12th teenager in US Open history to win.
Before this final, Gauff had a tough journey. Two times, she lost the first part of a match, once in the beginning against Laura Siegemund and again in the third round against Elise Mertens.
Because of this win, Gauff is now the third American teenager to win the US Open, after Serena Williams and Tracy Austin. She’s also going to move up to be the third best player in the world for singles, and she’ll be tied for first in doubles with her fellow American player Jessica Pegula.
Even though Sabalenka lost, she’s going to become the best women’s player in the world on Monday, taking over from Iga Świątek who held the title for 75 weeks in a row.
Sabalenka was very nice and congratulated Gauff. She said, “I hope we play in many more finals” and called Gauff “amazing.” Gauff also congratulated Sabalenka on becoming number one. She said, “Aryna is an incredible player. Congratulations on the no. 1 ranking, it’s well deserved.”
This was the first big win for Gauff. The last time Gauff and Sabalenka played against each other was in March at Indian Wells, and Sabalenka won easily. But in this final, things were different. Gauff has been getting much better in the six months since that match.
Even though she’s just 19, Gauff has already won three important tournaments this year, including one in Cincinnati right before the US Open. She’s been doing really well, winning 17 out of her last 18 matches. She’s the youngest American woman to make it to the US Open final since Serena Williams did it when she was 17 in 1999.
Gauff admires Serena a lot. She says, “Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT. I hope to do half of what she did.”
This was Gauff’s second big final. The first one was in the French Open last year, but she lost quickly to Iga Świątek.
After winning the semifinal with a score of 6-4, 7-5 against Karolína Muchová, Gauff talked about how her mindset has improved. She used to feel like she didn’t belong among the top players, but now she believes she can compete with them.
She mentioned that she still sometimes feels like she’s not good enough, but she’s getting better at dealing with it. Even after winning in Washington, DC, she thought maybe her opponents just had a bad day. But now, she’s trying to be more positive about herself and tell herself that she’s a really good player.
After losing in the first round at Wimbledon, she started thinking about the next year. But now, she’s proud of how she’s been playing at Flushing Meadows. She’s been focusing on her own expectations and believes that she has the maturity and skill to do well.
Sabalenka was really strong in New York before her semifinal against Madison Keys. She didn’t lose a set and never let her opponents win more than five games in a match.
However, in the semifinals, Keys gave her a tough fight. Sabalenka lost the first set by a big margin, 0-6. But she fought back hard and won the next two sets in tiebreakers, which are very close and tense. The final scores were 0-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (10-5), and the match lasted for two and a half hours.
In the second set, it seemed like Keys might win, and Gauff was even asked about the possibility of facing Keys in the press conference after her own match.
Sabalenka’s journey to the US Open final is really impressive. She had an amazing year, winning three titles, including her first big one at the Australian Open and another important title in Madrid.
Even though Sabalenka won the last time they played, she acknowledged that Gauff has gotten much better this season. She said, “She’s improved a lot… So it’s a different player – we don’t really like thinking about that match.”
For the final, I need to concentrate on myself and be ready for a tough battle. No matter what happens, I have to keep fighting and give my best.
You know, there isn’t much else you can do. You just have to be there and give it your all.
Sabalenka will likely have a lot of fans cheering for her in the final, but after dealing with a intense atmosphere in the match against Keys, she feels confident about handling it.
She mentioned that it would be better if the crowd supported both players equally, but she thinks the experience from the previous match will help her in the final. She’s okay with the support and even hopes that some of them will cheer for her from time to time—just a little bit. She said this with a laugh.
SOURCE:CNN