Coco Gauff said Aryna Sabalenka’s suggestion that she would have lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek was “not fair” after the American won her first Roland Garros title by beating the World No 1.
In difficult, windy conditions, Gauff fought from a set down to defeat Sabalenka 6-7 6-2 6-2 and win her second grand slam title on the Paris clay. However, a disgruntled Sabalenka criticised her own performance, in which she made 70 unforced errors, and said “it was the worst final I have ever played”.
Sabalenka had defeated Swiatek in the semi-finals, to end the Pole’s 26-match winning run at Roland Garros, but could not get the job done as she lost to Gauff for her second grand slam final defeat in a row.
“That hurts,” Sabalenka said. “Especially when you’ve been playing really great tennis during the whole week, when you’ve been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion [Qinwen Zheng], Iga and then you go out, and you play really bad.
“Like I think Iga – if Iga would [have] won [against me] another day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts. Honestly hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that’s hurt.”
To add to an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka added: “She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘let’s see if you can handle this’.”
Gauff said that while she respected both Sabalenka and Swiatek, she could not agree with Sabalenka’s assessment and said that she did a better job of dealing with the conditions.
“I mean, I don’t agree with that,” Gauff replied as she appeared at her press conference next to the French Open trophy. “I’m here sitting here.
“No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I played her I won in straight sets. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.
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“The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final.
“Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”
Gauff explained how she adjusted her game and handled the conditions to add to her 2023 US Open triumph, which also came against Sabalenka.
“It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,” Gauff said. “I was, like, ‘this is going to be a tough day’.
“I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. It really came down to the last few points, but overall I’m just really happy with the fight that I managed today. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and that’s all that matters.”
