2023-09-09 23:13:00
And Arthur Ashe Stadium roared. Coco Gauff fell backwards after a final unstoppable backhand passing which definitively buried the hopes of Aryna Sabalenka (2-6, 6-3, 6-2). Then the tears flowed. A strong moment. New York saw the long-awaited advent of this 19-year-old young woman, promised since her beginnings to reach the summits.
Eternal happiness for Gauff: his coronation ball at the US Open on video
It was therefore at home, at the US Open, that the American made an appointment with her destiny. A strong moment which will perhaps mark the beginning of an era for women’s tennis. A possible page of history, which contrasts with the probably minor legacy of this final from a strict tennis point of view, because this match was disappointing. Sabalenka, especially. The Belarusian will be world number one on Monday, but she self-destructed on Saturday evening.
Gauff leads the dance well, “KD” and Court Arthur Ashe ignite
If this final lacked so much scope, regardless of its historical significance and the emotional force of the communion of a young champion with an incandescent public who only had eyes for her, it is because both players took turns missing out on their match. For just over a set, Coco Gauff seemed too small for the event. Despite the experience of her final (lost) at Roland-Garros in 2022, Brad Gilbert’s protégé could no longer start her final badly. Sabalenka, without being exceptional, was going to fly through this first act.
Self destruct
When the Belarusian got break points at the start of the second set, the perfect scenario seemed to be underway. Queen Sheba would accompany her takeover in the hierarchy with incontestable authority. In reality, it was only a facade of domination, with fragile foundations. It was enough for Coco Gauff to get out of this game and manage to break it in the process for the initial script to go into the trash. The American entered this final from which Sabalenka suddenly disappeared. From 6-2, 1-1, we went to 2-6, 6-3, 4-0. A 9-2 fatal to the Belarusian as well as to the interest of this final.
A new gala rally and Sabalenka remains afloat in this second set
The inability of the Australian Open winner to find solutions (despite an illusory 4-0 break in the third set), a plan B, was far from a world number one. In the last two sets, we were treated to the Sabalenka of two or three years ago, unable to stop a staggering hemorrhage of unforced errors: 46 in the end, against only 19 for her opponent. A remarkable enterprise of self-destruction. He will have to understand the reasons and learn the lessons.
But the shape doesn’t matter. Coco Gauff, even with the obvious complicity of her evening victim, had the immense merit of staying afloat. Not easy, at 19, when everything seems to escape you. The mark of great character. Yes, the final disappointed, but what history will remember is that on September 9, 2023, women’s tennis found a new queen whose consecration was only a matter of time. It was his time. Its finale. It is, perhaps, his era which has just begun.
How far can Gauff go? “Physically, mentally, she already has everything”
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