Coco Gauff has wasted no time in responding to Aryna Sabalenka’s claims about their French Open final today.
It was a triumphant afternoon for the 2023 US Open champion, who repeated that feat by defeating the 27-year-old in another Grand Slam final.
Once again coming from a set down, there were many elements that mirrored one another, particularly with Sabalenka’s collapse.
Today’s match was mostly lost on her racket, firing out 70 unforced errors which ultimately lost her the match.
However, her post-match claims have left a sour taste in the mouths of many, with Coco Gauff having now given her reply.
Coco Gauff responds to controversial Aryna Sabalenka claim
Asked about Sabalenka’s controversial comments about Gauff’s title, the American did not entertain the Belarusian’s notion.
In fact, she was a little taken aback, claiming: ‘She said that Iga would win if I played Iga in the final?’
The reporter replied: ‘She didn’t mention you but she said if Iga had won she would have won the final.’
This prompted Gauff’s impassioned retort: ‘I don’t agree with that. I am sitting here and last time I played, no shade to Iga, but I played her and I won in straight sets. So, yeah, I don’t think that is a fair thing to say. Because anything can really happen and, honestly, I mean the way Aryna was playing the last few weeks she was the favourite to win.
‘So I think she was the best person I could have played in the final, her being number one in the world. She was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest match-up just if you go off stats alone. Obviously, Iga being a champion here it was going to be a tough match. But I think regardless of who I played I think I had a good shot to win and I definitely had that belief.
‘If you asked me honestly speaking to you guys who I wanted to play it was Iga, just because I felt Aryna was playing so good and she was.
‘But also Iga is a tough opponent too. So honestly neither of them would have been the better shot! But it played out how it played out and that is why I am here today.’
Coco Gauff was a deserved French Open winner
To claim that Gauff would not have won against another opponent is unfair, and seems like a veiled attempt to diminish her accomplishments today.
The 21-year-old has fought hard to be where she is, overcoming great adversity, including losing at this event three years earlier.
Sabalenka may well have lost the match for herself, but that does not mean that Gauff didn’t contribute with a few bits of brilliance of her own.
She fought back through plenty of breaks, and was the only one out of the two of them who actually managed to regain some consistency on the serve after a torrid period where neither could hold on their own service game.
Once again, Gauff proves her unflinching mentality, and these comments will do little to thwart her celebrations for a French Open title well-earned.
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