US Open 2023 women's singles final: Coco Gauff triumphs over Aryna Sabalenka
The 19-year-old Coco Gauff roared back from a set down to beat new world number one Sabalenka for her maiden Grand Slam title.
Tennis
U.S. teenager Coco Gauff staged a stunning comeback to secure a maiden tennis major victory claiming the US Open women's singles title after beating Belarusian ace Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in New York on Saturday (9 September).
The 19-year-old Gauff became the first home winner of the US Open women's singles title since Sloane Stephens beat compatriot Madison Keys in the 2017 final. She is also the first American teenager to win the singles title in New York since Serena Williams in 1999.
Looking to make her breakthrough, Gauff featured in the second Grand Slam of her young career after her defeat to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open. She hit a rich vein of form claiming a first WTA 1000 in Cincinnati last month.
Sabalenka’s powerful ground game seemed to be too much for her in the opening salvos of the match. The 25-year-old Sabalenka came out swinging breaking Gauff’s serve three times to claim the first set in 40 minutes.
But Gauff staged an epic comeback in the second set as she looked more settled dictating the game and handling Sabalenka’s aggressive approach winning the second set 6-3 sending the matching into a deciding third set.
By the start of the third set momentum had swung almost entirely in Gauff’s favour with Sabalenka looking rattled by the change in fortunes. Gauff broke in the first game, again in the third and seventh to set up the victory.
Sabalenka made a mini recovery shortly following a medical time-out when she broke Gauff’s serve in the sixth game. But Gauff had already done the damage to secure her maiden Grand Slam title.