Paris [France], June 7 : Coco Gauff reigned supreme in Paris as she staged a memorable comeback to lift her first French Open title by outwitting the world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a pulsating women's singles final on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday.
Gauff denied Sabalenka the chance to savour French Open success with a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in an absolute thriller that lasted for two hours and 38 minutes at the iconic blustery Court Philippe Chatrier.
With the Roland Garros triumph, the 21-year-old became the first American to lift the coveted French Open trophy in a decade after Serena Williams' success story in 2015. She is also the youngest American to claim the Roland Garros title since Serena's enchanting display in 2002.
Gauff, who won the 2023 US Open aged 19, engaged in a back-and-forth opening set but narrowly missed out on the opportunity to take a 1-0 lead.
However, she left Sabalenka stunned with her relentless pursuit of victory and breezed past in the next two sets to take the title back to New York.
"I'd like thank my parents. You keep me grounded and give me the belief I can do it, so I really appreciate it. I'd also like to thank the crowd for really helping me today. You guys were cheering for me so hard and I don't know what I do to deserve so much love from the French crowd," Gauff said after the match as quoted from the Roland Garros official website.
"I didn't think honestly that I could win but I'm actually going to quote [US rapper] Tyler, The Creator right here and he said 'if I ever told you I had a doubt inside me I must be lying'. I'd like to leave that with you guys. I think I was lying to myself and definitely could do it, so shout out to Tyler and shout out to you guys. Thank you, Paris," she added.
Sabalenka had two set points at 5-4 in a tense opening set but eventually let it slip from her hands. The opener went into a tie-breaker, and Gauff enjoyed a healthy 4-1 lead in the initial phase.
However, Sabalenka dug deeper to restore parity at 5-5. She replied with aplomb and stuck two winning volleys to walk away with the opening set.
Despite starting at an unprecedented setback, Gauff responded ferociously as she came out swinging in the second set to turn the tide in her favour.
She took more shots inside the baseline and raced to a 4-1 lead. Sabalenka's errors continued to haunt her as Gauff raced to a comfortable 6-2 win in the second and brought the game back to level terms at 1-1.
In the decider, Gauff and Sabalenka toiled hard for each point, but Gauff took charge at 4-3 with a backhand cross-court winner.
Sabalenka managed to save a match point at 5-4, unwilling to return home empty-handed. However, Gauff wasn't in the mood to be denied and eventually struck the match-winning point to return home with the title.