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Coco Gauff wants to win her first Grand Slam title on Saturday in front of what is expected to be a loud home crowd.
CNN –
And then there were two.
After two gripping weeks of action, the US Women’s Open draw concludes on Saturday with a mouth-watering finale between home favorite Coco Gauff and world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Both players played stunning tennis en route to the final and while Sabalenka will go into the match as favorite, Gauff is confident she can overcome the final hurdle in front of a partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The action for the final Grand Slam title of the season begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Viewers in the US can catch all the action on ESPN, while Sky Sports will broadcast the games in the UK.
A first Grand Slam for Gauff?
The last time Gauff and Sabalenka met was in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in March, with the Belarusian winning comfortably 6-4 and 6-0. However, Saturday’s final should be a very different contest as Gauff has rapidly improved in the six months since that defeat.
The 19-year-old has won three WTA titles this season, including the biggest of her career in Cincinnati just before the US Open, and has won 17 of her last 18 matches. She is the youngest American to reach the US Open final since 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999.
“Serena is Serena. She is the GOAT. I hope to do half of what she did,” Gauff said, according to the WTA.
This will be the second Grand Slam final of Gauff’s career, after she reached the final of the French Open in 2022, where she was quickly defeated by Iga Świątek.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Coco Gauff fought through against Karolína Muchová and reached the final of the US Open.
But after her 6-4, 7-5 semifinal win over Karolína Muchová, Gauff spoke about improving her mentality, from a person plagued by imposter syndrome to the belief that she is now capable of competing with the best to keep up with players in the world.
“I think it is [imposter syndrome] still a part of me,” she said. “It’s something I’m definitely better at dealing with. Even after [winning Washington] DC, I was still thinking, “Well, I beat some good people, but maybe I caught them on off days.”
“It’s definitely still a part of me, but I think I’m giving myself more credit and making things happen is real.” I’ve been trying to talk and tell myself more positive things about myself that I’m a great player.”
The sixth seed told reporters that she was “preparing for next year” after her Wimbledon first-round loss, before adding that she was “really proud of myself” for the way she performed at Flushing Meadows have.
“I focused more on myself and my expectations of myself,” Gauff said, according to Portal. “I really believe I have the maturity and ability to do that now.”
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Gauff reached the final of the French Open in 2022.
Until her semifinal against Madison Keys, Sabalenka was dominant in New York – never dropping a set and never losing more than five games in a match.
However, she was pushed to the limit by the American on Thursday and had to recover from a brutal 6-0 defeat in the first set, eventually winning 0-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (10-1). 5). .after two and a half hours of strenuous tennis.
The likelihood of a Keys victory near the end of the second set was so great that Gauff was even asked about the prospect of a duel with her fellow American in her post-match press conference.
Sabalenka’s run to the US Open final caps a remarkable year in which she won three titles – including her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and her sixth Masters 1000 title in Madrid. Win or lose on Saturday, she will be crowned the new world No. 1 on Monday.
Despite the win in their last meeting, Sabalenka praised Gauff’s development this season, saying she is a “much better” player now than she was six months ago.
“She has improved a lot,” Sabalenka told reporters after her semifinal. “So it’s a different player – we don’t really like to think about that game.
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Aryna Sabalenka made it to the semifinals before defeating Madison Keys.
“Going into this final I think I just have to focus on myself and prepare for another fight. No matter what happens, just keep fighting and keep playing my best and doing my best.
“You know, there’s not much you can do, what else can you do? You just have to be there and fight for it.”
Sabalenka will undoubtedly have to play in front of a partisan crowd in Saturday’s final, but having already weathered a tense atmosphere against the Keys on Thursday, she said she was confident of rising to the challenge.
“Of course I’d prefer it [to] have someone else or [the] The crowd will be a little bit the same for both players, but today’s game I think will help me in the final because I do well with that support. I’ll be fine,” she said.
“I still hope that probably some of them will support me – just a little bit. Just sometimes, please. Please,” she laughed.