First Grand Slam title at US Open – Final win over Sabalenka: Gauff reaches her dream goal – Sports

He emerged after a weak start

At first it looked as if the Belarusian could smash the US team on the world’s largest tennis court. Sabalenka was irresistible in the first set, holding Gauff’s serve 3 times and clearly winning the opening round 6:2.

The world number one remained on the trigger at the start of the second round and had two break points again in the first game. But this time, Goff was able to counter that and continued to drain the game. It was the feeling of accomplishment that lit the teen on fire.

I only showed nerves for a moment

When the score was 2:1, Gauff was able to break the first break in the second round, which was to be the last. Never giving up on this small lead, the local hero finally got the New York crowd boiling with the set-piece equalizer.

With the support of an entire nation behind her, Gauff was able to raise her level again in the third round. Sabalenka continued to control most passes with her attacking style of play, but her nimble opponent hit almost every ball and drove the Belarusian into despair. The point often ends with an error by Sabalenka – often from the point of view of the Australian Open winner. In the end there were 46 unforced errors.

Gauff quickly took a 4-0 lead into the third round. After a medical break from Sabalenka – the Belarusian massaged her thigh – the American briefly lost track and had to let her opponent close at 2:4. With another break at 5:2, Geoff Sabalenka certainly caught the wind. Shortly thereafter, after 2:06 hours of play, Gauff immediately used her first championship point.

New World No. 3

Gauff ended his 6-year drought in the United States at home Grand Slams. Sloane Stephens was the last local to win the US Open in 2017. With her first major-level title, Gauff also made a move up the world rankings. From Monday it will move up from sixth to third. Only Ija Swiatek and Sabalenka are ahead of the 19-year-old.