US Open 2023 : Coco Gauff beats Sabalenka to win her first ever Grand Slam

 

American teenager Coco Gauff creates history by winning her first ever grand slam in US Open. In the first set, it seemed that American Coco Gough could not stand up against Arnya Sabalenka of Belarus but she fought back in style .  Not only did she return, but after losing the first set, she won the US Open by defeating Sabalenka, the second seed in the world, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.  At the same time she touched Serena Williams.  The last time a teenage Serena won the US Open was in 1999.  Gough became the first teenage tennis player to achieve that feat this century.  She won her first Grand Slam.  She rose from number six in the ranking to number three

 Sabalenka won the Australian Open earlier this year.  She was eliminated in the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.  She had a chance to end the year with a Grand Slam.   Sabalenka was defeated by the tenacity and confidence of a teenage player.  Gough relied on her own strength.  

 Sabalenka used her experience in the first game of the first set.  Gough could not hold her first serve under the pressure of the final.  Sabalenka broke Gauff's serve in the first game with ruthless tennis.  The Belarusian competitor held her serve in the second game.  Her game looked like Gauff would never make a comeback.  But Sabalenka relented  and Gough returned to the game.

Gauff held her serve in the third game.  Sabalenka started making mistakes in the fourth game.  From the start she was trying to hit shots as hard as possible and she could not control herself while doing that.  Sabalenka double faulted twice in the fourth game.  Using that opportunity, Gauff broke Sabalenka's service.  The second seed in the world is seen losing her temper by making a mistake.  Martina Navratilova, Maria Sharapova, Nicole Kidman were sitting in the gallery.  Gauff showed her determination to return to the match in front of them.

 Sabalenka returned to the game in the fifth game.  The few shots she did land, Gauff couldn't do anything about.  But Sabalenka could not show continuity.  Was making an unforced error after a winner.  Sabalenka broke Gauff's serve in the fifth game.  Gough got a break point again in the next game.  At that time, a rally of 17 shots was seen.  Gauff struggled against Sabalenka's power and Sabalenka won that rally.  After that Sabalenka held her serve and went ahead 4-2.  A game lasts for 8 minutes.  Sabalenka's shout after winning the sixth game showed how much she needed to win this point.

 The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium was next to the 19-year-old Gauff.  Whenever she won a point the applause was deafening.   Sabalenka changed the game from the seventh game.  She started using her intelligence as well as her strength.  She started hitting drop shots.  And as soon as Sabalenka got into the rhythm, Gauff started making mistakes.  She made the first double fault of the match in the eighth game.  Sabalenka broke Gauff's serve in that game as well.  She went ahead in the game 5-2.  Sabalenka won the first set 6-2 by holding her serve in the next game.

Gough was under pressure at the beginning of the second set.  Sabalenka got a break point again.  But Gauff did not give up this time.  She held her serve by winning three consecutive points but at that moment, Sabalenka's confidence was at its peak.  So the support of Arthur Ash Court was not working for Gauff.  Sabalenka held her serve and made it 1-1.

 In the second set, Gauff was having trouble making her own serve again.  She was doing double fault again and again.  In the meantime, she somehow maintained her service.  Sabalenka made another mistake in the fourth game.  She was earlier targeting Gauff's forehands because Goff's main strength is her backhand.  Gauff used her backhand in the fourth game.  Sabalenka double faulted the game.  Gauff took a 3-1 game lead and the 23,000 spectators at Arthur Ash Court also began to dream of a comeback.

 In the next game Sabalenka could not take advantage of the opportunity to break serve.  Gauff was not giving up.  She went ahead in the game 4-1.  The world saw the best tennis from the two competitors in the next game.  The spirited rally, the never-give-up mentality took the game to new heights.  Sabalenka held her serve by hitting two winners in a row.  But Gauff also found the rhythm.  So Sabalenka could not stop her in the second set.  The American teenager equalized by winning 6-3.

 Gough broke Sabalenka's serve in the first game of the third set.  As the time was rolling, she was getting her wings.  Confidence oozed from every shot.  On the other hand, Sabalenka had to play against herself as well as Gauff.  She was losing her temper again and again.  She was making mistakes while playing hard.  Sabalenka showed that even the best players in the world make mistakes under pressure.  The picture of the game was not changing even after changing the racket again and again.  Sabalenka made a mistake again in the third game.  Gough won the break point again and went ahead 3-0.

Sabalenka made more than twice as many unforced errors as Gauff in the entire match.  She made this mistake while hitting the winner with the force of her body.  The intelligence with which Gauff played against Sabalenka's power from the second set showed that she is here for the long haul in tennis.   In the fifth game of the third set, it was clear how much the Belarusian competitor is suffering from a lack of consistency.  She made a double fault after hitting two Aces in a row.  Gauff's defence was forcing her to make mistakes.

 Sabalenka caught a leg injury during the third set.  As a result, she was forced to take a medical break.  Sabalenka broke Gauff's serve after the break.  Even when she returned to the game, it was obvious that she was tired.  Gauff took that opportunity.  She broke Sabalenka's serve in the next game by playing a long rally.  Sabalenka could not return from there.  Even after winning the first set, she had to lose the match and Coco Gauff became the new US Open champion to the delight of the crowd present in the stadium.