Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka for a second time in a Grand Slam final to lift the Roland Garros title.
Gauff fought back to beat Sabalenka after losing the first set, winning her second major at just 21 years of age.
There has been a huge amount of support for the American since winning Roland Garros, with Gauff receiving messages from Carlos Alcaraz and many others across the sporting world and beyond.
While Gauff is receiving all the plaudits for her victory, Sabalenka has been criticised for some comments she made after losing her second Grand Slam final this year.
Coco Gauff on what she knew Aryna Sabalenka would not be able to do against her
After Gauff beat Sabalenka, 6(5)-7 6-2 6-4, she would head to the Tennis Channel desk along with her new Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.
During this interview, Gauff was asked questions by Martina Navratilova and Prakash Amritraj about the match and how it played out, including how she felt serving for the match.
While she admitted to not feeling calm in this decisive moment, Gauff was assured that she would not be out-rallied by the world number one in the windy conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“Yeah I wasn’t cool, but that’s tennis you’ve got to play poker face,” said Gauff. “Yeah, I was like I’m not going to miss just because of the fact that I knew that if we were playing a real rally I knew she would not be able to out-rally me and then also with the wind conditions and how windy it was I knew it would be hard for her to hit winners.
“And also me as well, sometimes I felt like I could go for it and I was like maybe not, so that’s kind of what the match was about today, who could stay locked in to the last moment.
“Because the wind was so difficult, it was the worst I’ve felt this tournament but you know it happens and you just have to learn how to adapt.”
Coco Gauff admits she was ‘lucky’ in the Roland Garros final
The US Open was Gauff’s first major victory in 2023, and now she has added to her resume in Paris.
While she was confident that she could out-rally Sabalenka, Gauff has also admitted that she did have a moment of luck in the final.
After losing the opening set in disappointing fashion, Gauff explained how she fought back to claim the second and third.
“Yeah, was super disappointed after that first set, just because also in the tie-breaker I was leading so I felt like I fought so hard to give me that chance,” said Gauff.
“And then in the second I was like okay, I started down the set 4-1 and almost won it, so I was like just try not to do the same and by the math it should end up working out for your favour and it did.
“The third set I knew would be a gamble and I was lucky to get that break and after that I was just like just try your best to hold serve and you know just fight through it.”
Gauff will celebrate her triumph in Paris now, before switching her attention to the grass court season as she looks to target Wimbledon as her next major tournament.
The world number two is next scheduled to compete at the stacked WTA 500 tournament in Berlin, that begins on Monday, June 16.
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