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 6-4 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”.
“I mean, I don’t agree with that,” Gauff replied as she appeared at her press conference next to the French Open trophy.
So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final.
Following Iga Swiatek’s victory over the World No. 1 to win her first Roland Garros title, Coco Gauff said that Aryna Sabalenka’s suggestion that she would have lost the French Open final to the American was not “fair.”.
Gauff won her second grand slam title on the Paris clay after rallying from a set down to defeat Sabalenka 6-7 6-2 6-4 in challenging, windy conditions. “It was the worst final I have ever played,” a frustrated Sabalenka said, criticizing her own performance, which included 70 unforced errors.
Despite defeating Swiatek in the semifinals to snap the Pole’s 26-match winning streak at Roland Garros, Sabalenka was unable to complete the task and lost to Gauff for the second consecutive grand slam final loss.
“That hurts,” Sabalenka remarked. “Especially when you’ve been playing excellent tennis all week long, against a lot of tough opponents, including Olympic champion [Qinwen Zheng], Iga, and then you go out and play really poorly.”.
As I believe Iga. I believe that she would go out today and win. It simply hurts. In all honesty, it hurts. It hurt to play like I did in the final game after playing so well up until that point. “”.
Sabalenka added, “She was hitting the ball from the frame,” to an already remarkable press conference. The ball magically lands in the court. To be honest, it felt like a joke, as if someone from above was giggling and saying, “Let’s see if you can handle this.”. “”.
Sabalenka added: “I believe she won the match because I made all of those mistakes, not because she played amazing.”. “.”.
Although she respected Sabalenka and Swiatek, Gauff stated that she did a better job of handling the circumstances and that she could not agree with Sabalenka’s assessment.
As Gauff stood beside the French Open trophy at her press conference, she responded, “I mean, I don’t agree with that.”. As the champion, I’m seated here.
I don’t mean to disparage Iga, but I defeated her in straight sets the last time I faced her. Since anything can actually happen, I don’t think that’s a fair statement.
Given her performance over the past few weeks, Aryna was the clear favorite to win. She, in my opinion, was the best player I could have used in the championship game.
“Her being no.”. If you only look at the stats, I believe I was given the most difficult matchup because the best player in the world was I. “”.
In addition to her 2023 US Open victory, which also came against Sabalenka, Gauff described how she modified her strategy and dealt with the circumstances.
Gauff remarked, “We warmed up with the roof closed, so it was really difficult when I walked on the court and felt the wind.”. ‘This is going to be a tough day,’ I thought.
“I knew it would only require mental toughness and willpower. The final few points were crucial, but all in all, I’m quite pleased with the battle I was able to win today. It wasn’t attractive, but it did the job, and that’s what counts. “”.
Sabalenka, who lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January, said she would be taking a vacation to Greece for “tequila, gummy bears, and swimming” and had no intention of watching the final again.
Sabalenka responded, “No, no, I already have a flight to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar.”. I would swear right now if I could, but I need a few days to forget about this crazy world and this crazy thing that happened today.
“I believe everyone is aware. I’m just trying to be extremely courteous at the moment, but there really isn’t a word that can adequately describe what transpired on the court today. But yes, gummy bears, tequila, swimming, and, I don’t know, acting like tourists for a few days. “”.
