Coco Gauff takes U.S. Open title win for first career major championship
NEW YORK – Coco Gauff scurried from nook to cranny inside Ashe Stadium, chasing down tennis balls from Aryna Sabalenka’s tennis racket well into dinnertime. Gauff ranged so far, so fast, she might have been headed for an ice-cream stand, or for the locker room.
Through it all, Gauff refused to flinch, or flag, or fail. She did her fair share of returning those harsh groundies on those many forays, and eventually turned around a U.S. Open final on Saturday that had seemed almost out of reach. At age 19, a mere tennis babe, Gauff captured the first of what will surely be many major titles, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Gauff collapsed on her back when she had managed this feat, but not for long, She was up again in a moment, hugging Sabalenka, crying for joy, waving to an adoring crowd that had just witnessed the first chapter of another American dream. She was in the stands with her family, then to her coaches.
Never stopping.
Gauff could not help but notice, for once, that her stoic father Cori was sobbing with joy. This was the very same dad, and coach, who spent years supervising his daughter’s practices; who took her to the Open to watch Venus and Serena.
“Today was the first time I ever saw my dad cry,” Gauff said. “He thinks he’s so hard, but he’s not.”
Then Gauff took an unexpected U-turn at the mic, thanking any skeptic – were there really any out there? – who might have doubted her chances.
“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” she said. “Those who thought they could put water on my fire, you’re really adding gas to it. Now, I’m burning bright.”
Gauff was a glowing star again on Saturday, after a tentative start. Her unscripted comeback began in earnest in the fourth game of the second set, when Gauff fired a perfect, cross-court, backhand passing shot that flummoxed and unnerved Sabalenka. The Belarusian had dominated play until then, but soon she double-faulted and was broken for 1-3.
From then on, Gauff’s fragile forehand steadied and she played some of her best tennis of the tournament, doing her share of attacking.
Sabalenka, rattled, was broken again in the first game of the third set, when Gauff slammed a winning overhead that supercharged the crowd. Spike Lee led his own cheering section, and Ashe sounded louder than the Garden.
The roof had been closed and the match became a raucous, indoor affair from the start, because of rain and lightning in the Flushing Meadows area. Gauff, who trains in Florida, lost a bit of the climatic edge. But she owned the Open crowd, including an A-list of Hollywood celebs, who were as partisan as ever. The fans cheered mercilessly at Sabalenka’s double faults and her netted volleys. By late in the third set, as Gauff grabbed this match by the throat of her racket, the scene was more a celebratory festival than a tennis contest.
The kid has wheels, we all knew. Gauff’s speed forces opponents to execute a second winner, and then a third; But she didn’t win that $3 million top prize Saturday on speed alone. There was also a steely psyche behind this delightful champion – the 10th teenage Open titlist in history.
Gauff has now gone 18-1 this summer since bringing Brad Gilbert into her coaching fold. She is the hottest player in the game. Still, this match was far from a gimme. Sabalenka had dismantled Gauff in straight sets the last time they played, and can be one of the most intimidating opponents in the sport.
There is nothing subtle or nuanced about Sabalenka’s power game. The Belarusian just knocks the cover off every ball. If she is on her game, and if those rockets are hitting the lines, there is little an opponent can do to stay in the match.
But Sabalenka can be streaky, as evidenced by her ledge-walking semifinal victory over Madison Keys. Sabalenka may be the No.1 player in the world, but there are times when Sabalenka loses her radar; when her groundstrokes carry long, and when she looks more like a marginal qualifier. The match is typically on her racket, as it once was with Serena Williams. Her opponent is the prey, forever playing defense.
That’s the way it usually goes, yet Gauff defied that narrative and pushed Sabalenka back on her heels, farther and farther, as the match progressed. By late in the third set, the desperate Belarusian called for a medical timeout and a thigh massage – perhaps in an effort to stem Gauff’s momentum.
Sabalenka was, in many ways, a convenient villain. Her country is on the unpopular side of the Ukraine war. Her disruptive screeching on court is off-putting. Sabalenka is a charming interview, but she can come off as a bully during matches, if only by her sheer size. When she picked up her consolation trophy after the match, Sabalenka could not help but comment on the crowd’s sudden vocal approval.
“You guys could have supported like this during the match,” she said, laughing.
Gauff, meanwhile, presents a very different image. She is the ultimate local hero, fierce, eloquent, and sportsmanlike. It was so easy to root for Gauff, who has been both brilliant and charming during her ascent. Even when environmental protestors caused a 50-minute delay during her semifinal match, Gauff was empathetic toward the demonstrators and their cause.
“I always speak about preaching about what you feel and what you believe in,” Gauff said. “If that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”
Nothing upset Gauff on Saturday, when she faced down the barrel of Sabalenka’s 116mph serves and emerged a cherished American champion.
No. 3 in the world. No. 1 in their hearts.