Tennis: Coco Gauff wins the US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka – Sport

This sixth of ultimately 157 rallies in this women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff: It set the tone for what was to come after, like this one chord at the end of the overture of a concert. Sabalenka played the rally the way she tried to shape the final, the way she tries to shape all of her games: with violent drumbeats, every shot from the baseline a powerful but also precise “thump”.

So it went “boom” and “boom” and “boom” – and because the New York audience was completely taken by surprise by this rhythm, nothing else could be heard in the largest tennis arena in the world. Sabalenka moved forward to the net to put the finishing touches after the drumbeats; but Gauff had no interest in it. She is a master in the art of fending off the boom-boom-boom of her opponents using her fitness and technique – and at some point setting her own mark. In this case it was a praise for Sabalenka’s backhand, whose virtues don’t necessarily include a fine hand; It went “pläng”, like a guitar that was completely out of tune, and the ball sailed into the net. Point for Gauff.

The audience cheered, that’s exactly why they had come: They wanted to see how the American turned her opponent’s boom-boom-boom into a “bang” and this final, the second Grand Slam final of her career after the French Open 2022 , decided for themselves – and they were determined to help her. At the US Open, New Yorkers have always been firmly convinced that they can help players win by shouting, and they prefer to help compatriots and opponents of Daniil Medvedev, with whom they have a wonderful love-hate relationship – that is, they love him to hate.

Sabalenka was extremely annoyed by how this game started – and by the fact that the crowd was against her

Back to the women’s final: At the 30th rally, Gauff had to fend off a break ball at 2:2, there was exactly the same picture: boom, boom, boom, Sabalenka stormed to the net. Defense Gauff on their backhand: Pläng. People escalated, Sabalenka was extremely annoyed with how this game started – whenever she scored a spectacular point afterwards, she waved her right arm as a message to the audience: Oh, and you’re freaking out not out of? During her own game wins, when people were completely quiet from shock, she would shout “Let’s gooooooooo!” In the second set, she answered a praise from Gauff, who immediately caused the noise to simmer to airplane take-off volume, with a praise of her own – and made it so quiet that you could hear her dropping her racket out of relief.

So that was the tone when asked whether this Saturday would complete the “Summer of Coco” (after tournament victories in Washington and Cincinnati) – or the year of Aryna: victory at the Australian Open, semi-finals in Paris and Wimbledon; Promotion to world number one at the US Open, it will be official from Monday, despite the defeat in the final.

Short answer: It’s the summer of Coco, she won 2:6, 6:3, 6:2, the Tiffany’s Cup and three million dollars in prize money. “Thank you for fighting for this,” she said to Billie Jean King at the check presentation; Exactly 50 years ago, the US Open was the first sporting event to pay men and women the same prize money – and still does to this day.

The longer answer: It was Gauff who became more and more calm as the game progressed and didn’t allow herself to be distracted by the shouts of the spectators; by celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Shonda Rhimes, Charlize Theron and regular guest Jimmy Butler (who acted as ball boy on Kids’ Day before the tournament); from the lightning outside, visible through the closed roof. It seemed, and this was also evident from her look between rallies, as if she was running across the pitch to her own personal rhythm. She also no longer wanted advice from trainers Brad Gilbert and Pere Riba; She waved her hand and said, “Stop it!” Stop it!

Ultimately, the question was: How many attacks from Sabalenka, how many crashing serves, thunderous forehands and furious smashes would Gauff be able to fend off before her opponent made a mistake or she was able to hit a winning counterattack herself? The answer in the first sentence: not enough. In the second: significantly more – and should anyone now think: Doesn’t a match with this rhythm involve unbelievable rallies? Yes, it does, and it became even more unbelievable in the third movement because both of them didn’t let themselves be taken over by the drama and increased their playfulness – but at some point it was clear: This was Gauff’s day – who often managed to “boom” herself towards the end.

You could also ask: What kind of person is this who deals with this pressure like that?

In the end, Gauff was the more composed one against Sabalenka, who was six years older; Statistically it looks like this: Sabalenka managed twelve more winning strokes (25:13), but was forced by Gauff to make 27 more slight errors (19:46).

When it comes to Gauff, because she first caused a sensation at the US Open when she was 15, you often forget that she is only 19 years old – also because she deals with this hype with experience and still remains authentic and relaxed; She said about climate protests during the semi-finals: “Do I want something like that to happen during my games? No, because I had momentum, I don’t want to lie. But I am of the opinion that peaceful protest, and that was it is allowed.”

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People sometimes ask: What kind of pressure must be on Gauff? You could also ask: What kind of person is this who deals with this pressure like that? Who fulfills the promise that others have made for them in such a confident and playfully disciplined manner in the largest tennis arena in the world?

Gauff gave the answer herself on Saturday: When everything was over and it was clear that this was Coco’s summer, she first ran to her opponent to hug her and then: “I wanted to call my brother – but he didn’t answer . When he called back, the awards ceremony was already starting, so I have to call him again straight away.”