Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka meet again.
No. 1 seed Sabalenka and No. 2 seed Gauff both advanced to the French Open women’s final on Saturday, setting up a rematch of the 2023 U.S. Open final, where Gauff completed a comeback to win her first career Grand Slam title at age 19. Saturday’s French Open final between Gauff and Sabalenka marks the first women’s title match in Paris between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 2013.
Gauff ended the Cinderella run of 361st-ranked French qualifier Lois Boisson in the semifinals to move on to the French Open singles final for the second time in her career. She made it all the way to the French Open final in 2022 at age 18, but ultimately lost to Iga Świątek, a defeat that Gauff said rattled her confidence.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates her victory over Coco Gauff of the United States in the semi-final of the women’s singles at the Australian Open on Jan 25, 2024 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
“My first final here, I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened,” Gauff said following her 6-1, 6-2 win over Boisson. “Obviously, here, I have a lot more confidence just from playing a Grand Slam final before and doing well in one.”
Sabalenka denied Świątek’s record pursuit of a four-peat at Roland Garros with a 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-0 victory in the semifinals to reach her first final at the French Open. The three-time major winner also advanced to the 2025 Australian Open final earlier this year before losing out on her own three-peat to American Madison Keys.
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Both women are pursuing their first French Open title and first major on the clay court. Gauff is looking to become the first American woman to win the tournament since Serena Williams in 2013.
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Sabalenka takes thrilling first set over Gauff at French Open final
After winning the first game of the match, Coco Gauff was broken in the third and fifth games as Aryna Sabalenka neutralized Gauff’s serve, sprinting out to a 4-1 lead and a 40-love lead in the next game. But Gauff showed resilience, breaking back after losing seven straight points on serve before saving a triple break point.
Sabalenka was broken again in the eighth game and Gauff squared up the match, thanks to the top-seed unraveling, at one point losing 12 straight points. In a recurring theme, Sabalenka, who had four double faults and 32 unforced errors, thanks to a nearly 30 mph gusting wind, and Gauff took turns breaking each other’s serve, including Gauff getting the upper hand in a 13-minute 10th game. The hour-and-18-minute set went to a tiebreak, with Gauff taking the first three points before Sabalenka stormed back to take the set 7-6.
Source: USA Today
