Coco Gauff ‘proud to represent Americans that look like me’ in French Open ultimate triumph

Coco Gauff hopes her triumph on the French Open supplies a glimmer of positivity for her supporters all through a hard political length within the United States as she clinched her first French Open identify on Saturday.

Gauff, the second one seed, demonstrated her psychological fortitude through recuperating from a collection all the way down to defeat the sector No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 and win her 2d grand slam identify in Paris.

“Obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things … like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” mentioned Gauff all through her press convention. “But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period … just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”

“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt like a down period a little bit, and my mom told me during Riyadh: ‘Just try to win the tournament just to give something for people to smile for.’ So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that. And then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot.

“Some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”

Gauff contested her first grand slam ultimate elderly 18 on the 2022 French Open, dropping to Iga Swiatek, earlier than defeating Sabalenka on the 2023 US Open to win her first grand slam identify. She mentioned that she struggled with nervousness and doubt in 2022, an entire distinction to the arrogance she felt earlier than this fit.

“I just remembered that ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,” mentioned Gauff. “So when the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her pretty emotional when the Polish anthem was played. I was, like, ‘Wow, this is such a cool moment’. So when the anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections.

“It was a tough time. I was doubting myself, wondering if I would ever be able to overcome it, especially my mentality going into that match. I was crying before the match and so nervous, and literally couldn’t breathe and stuff. I was, like: ‘If I can’t handle this, how am I going to handle it again?’ Then obviously the US Open happened, and now I just felt really ready today, and I was, like: ‘I’m just going to leave it all out there, and regardless of what happens, I can leave proud.’”

After additionally dropping the Australian Open ultimate this 12 months in 3 units to Madison Keys, Sabalenka is now 3-3 in grand slam finals. She didn’t cover her rage. Asked how Gauff made issues tough for her, Sabalenka credited her opponent’s framed pictures and lambasted the windy stipulations.

“Honestly sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame,” she mentioned. “Somehow magically the ball lands in the court, and you are kind of on the back foot. Yeah, it’s just, you know, like … it felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just staying there laughing, like: ‘Let’s see if you can handle this.’”

Sabalenka additionally claimed that Swiatek, who she defeated within the semi-finals, would have overwhelmed Gauff on Saturday: “I think Iga … would go out today and she would get the win. Yeah, it just hurts. Honestly hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, I go out there and perform like I did. That hurt,” she mentioned.

Speaking lower than an hour after leaving the courtroom, Sabalenka mentioned she already is aware of plans for the following couple of days as she tries to recover from this hard defeat: “I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar,” she mentioned. “I just need a couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and this crazy … if I could swear, I would swear right now, but this crazy thing that happened today.

“And I couldn’t today. I think everyone understands. I’m just trying to be very polite right now, but there is no other word that could describe what just happened today on the court. But yeah, tequila, gummy bears, and I don’t know, swimming, being a tourist for a couple of days.”