Coco Gauff follows Serena Williams with French Open triumph

American Coco Gauff is the French Open champion after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Roland Garros.

The 21-year-old won her second career major with a thrilling 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory over the world No. 1. In doing so, Gauff becomes the first American to win a Grand Slam tournament on clay since Serena Williams did so in 2015.

The win further marks Gauff out as one of the most exciting young talents in the world of tennis and potentially capable of following in the footsteps of the Williams sisters.

Gauff now boasts a 6-5 advantage over Sabalenka in their career meetings, an impressive record against a player who had won three of the past eight major tournaments before the two met on Saturday. Speaking after her win, Gauff paid tribute to Sabalenka’s incredible record.

“I want to congratulate Aryna, you deserve all the results that you have,” Gauff said. “I want to thank my team ... you remind me there’s more to life than tennis, and I think that’s what makes me play better on the court.”

She continued: “Thanks to the crowd for cheering for me so hard. I don’t know what I did to deserve so much love from the French crowd, but I appreciate you guys.”

However the American did not have it all her own way at Roland Garros and was forced to fight back from an early deficit. Sabalenka led 4-1 in the first set and was ahead in the sixth game before Gauff strung together an incredible streak and won the following 12 points.

Although the Belarusian managed to see out the first set that run of points from Gauff did appear to shift the momentum. She pushed Sabalenka hard in the subsequent sets and clinched her second Grand Slam title, following the US Open in 2023.

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