Today's Edition
PARIS (AFP)
Coco Gauff secured her French Open title on Saturday with a victory over Aryna Sabalenka, and said a maiden French Open trophy was "one I really wanted".
The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros.
“I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,” the American said.
"So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff. Today, playing Aryna, I was just, 'I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match.'"
It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager. She had also reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years.
“That ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,” added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final.
Gauff is the first woman to beat a world number one in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2005.
It was Gauff's first title since lifting the WTA Finals trophy last year, after suffering final defeats in both the Madrid and Italian Opens to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively.
