The path for both finalists to the main match of the US Open was difficult. But, let’s say, unevenly. Sabalenka did not lose more than five games in any match until the semifinals. But one step before the final, she starred in a crazy battle with Madison Keys. “Baranka” in the first set and two tie-breaks later won: Arina’s fans must have exhausted all reserves of sedatives.
But Gauff, on the other hand, lost three sets at once in the first four rounds of the Grand Slam tournament. The easiest match for her turned out to be the quarterfinal against Elena Ostapenko (she only lost two matches), and in the semi-final, in two difficult matches, she faced the very dangerous Czech Karolina Muchova.
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It is also worth noting that, regardless of the result of the decisive match, Sabalenka did a great job in New York: she reached the top in the world rankings of the WTA circuit. And although this was largely due to the defeat of her main competitor Iga Swiatek, the Belarusian is probably still very happy about such a significant achievement. But backing it up with a second Grand Slam victory of her career, of course, wouldn’t hurt.
Before the match, Arina was considered a small favorite by bookmakers, but the advantage could not be considered significant, so everyone expected an interesting match. However, already in the first game, Gauff lost his serve. Of course, the entire stadium supported the American. And this, apparently, at first enslaved her a little. Of course, the girl is only 19 years old.
Coco soon returned serve, but the sixth and seventh games were decisive. Sabalenka almost lost her serve immediately after the break. Apparently, this upset Gauff so much that he lost the next game almost without a fight. In the end, the first game went to the more experienced Arina 6-2. Despite a confident victory in the set, the Belarusian made many errors – 14 unforced.
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Sabalenka could knock out her opponent in the first game of the next game. He earned a double break point, but lost the opportunity due to his own mistakes. The American managed to turn the situation around in the fourth game. With the score 1:2 and 30:40, Gauff won an incredible point that Arina had to take advantage of and after a couple of rallies he got a break. And even a crazy point with the score 1:4 after the exchange of candles did not help the Belarusian tennis player to regain the initiative. The rest of the match ended without interruptions: 6:3. And the athletes go to the decisive third set.
In the third game, the Belarusian athlete began to lose control decisively by 0:4. After that, he took a medical break. The trick that many players resort to turned out to be beneficial: they managed to return a break. But Gauff did not allow him to do more – 6:2.
Sabalenka cried after the US Open final and broke her racket in the locker room
Sabalenka, in the style of Daniil Medvedev, after particularly successful pranks, flirted and mocked the stands cheering on her compatriot. It’s just that Daniil’s psychological stability was not enough for Arina. Ultimately, she was ruined by her own errors (up to 46 per match) and a bad first serve (52%).
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Gauff gave an intelligent and mature performance. He understood perfectly that his chance in the final was to break his opponent’s attacking game. Furthermore, even when she found herself in a difficult situation, the American did not give up, but instead continued to fight, for which she was eventually rewarded with a tennis fortune.
Gauff becomes the youngest American to win a Grand Slam in the 21st century
