ROLAND GARROS. Paris
At 21 years old, Coco Gauff fulfilled a dream. She was crowned in Paris by winning her first Roland Garros title—her second Grand Slam—after defeating the world No. 1, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
Coco Gauff, ranked No. 2 in the WTA, beat 27-year-old Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1) with a score of 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 to claim her second Grand Slam trophy.
After losing the final, Sabalenka attended the official press conference and, surprisingly, stated that if Iga Świątek had made it to the semifinals, the Polish player would have beaten Gauff in the final.
“I don’t agree. I’m here! The last time I played against her—without taking anything away from Iga—I won in three sets. I don’t think it’s fair to say that, because anything can happen,” Gauff responded during her own press conference.
The Roland Garros champion also made her stance on facing Sabalenka clear:
“Whoever I played against, I had high hopes of winning and had that conviction. If someone had asked me who I wanted to face, I would have preferred to play Iga because Aryna played very well, but Iga is also a tough opponent,” she concluded.