10 September 2023 , 16:34
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Coco Gauff has paid tribute to Serena and Venus Williams following her US Open triumph.
The teen recovered from a set down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and win the first Grand Slam of her career. The American fell to her knees and burst into tears as the gravity of her latest achievement in front of a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium began to sink in.
Gauff’s victory saw her become the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena in 1999. Over the course of their two-decade careers, the Williams sisters overcame cases of gender and racial injustice and discrimination to become two of the all-time greats. And During her post-match press conference, the soon-to-be-new World No.3 issued a powerful speech in which she credited the legendary sibling duo for overcoming adversity and paving the way for the next generation of black tennis players and beyond.
“It's crazy (to see my name on the trophy with theirs),” Gauff said. "I mean, they're the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest. They have allowed me to believe in this dream, you know, growing up. You know, there wasn't too many just Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember.
“Obviously more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this. I mean, you look back at the history with Indian Wells, with Serena, all she had to go through, Venus fighting for equal pay. Yeah, it's crazy and it's an honour to be in that kind of line-up as them. And I'm looking at it, and she's won this a lot of times.”
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In her first US Open final, Gauff lost the first set in convincing fashion as Sabalenka broke the American's serve three times and hit eight winners to just three from her opponent as the Belarusian won the last four games of the opening set. But, facing a bombardment of heavy groundstrokes from the soon-to-be new World No.1, Gauff’s defence was near impenetrable once the second set began.
As she sprinted to retrieve more and more shots from Sabalenka that may have been winners against most other players, the Australian Open champion began to get frustrated. More rally errors sprang from Sabalenka’s racket and Gauff claimed the only break of the second set to lead 3-1. She fended off three break points in that set before levelling the match and sending the final to a decider.
Serena and Venus Williams overcame adversity throughout their careers and dominated tennis (Getty Images)In the third set, it was more of the same from Gauff, who was creating some excellent angles and drawing Sabalenka out of her comfort zone, leaving her unable to dictate with her power. As a result, more errors came from the Sabalenka racket and the 19-year-old surged into a 4-0 lead in set three.
Sabalenka took a medical time out while trailing 4-1 and broke Gauff’s serve straight after. But the American showed great poise as she secured an immediate break back to go up 5-2. With the crowd roaring her on, Gauff then served it out to win her 10th match in a Grand Slam after dropping the first set, and became the first American champion at the US Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
"It means so much to me," an elated Gauff said during the trophy presentation. "I feel like I’m a little bit in shock in this moment. That French Open loss was a heartbreak for me, but I realised God puts you through tribulations and trials, and that makes this moment even sweeter than I could imagine. My dad took me to this tournament, sitting right there, watching Venus and Serena compete, so it’s really incredible to be here on this stage."