Coco Gauff Ousts Sabalenka To Win Maiden Grand Slam Title At US Open - UBITENNIS
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Coco Gauff Ousts Sabalenka To Win Maiden Grand Slam Title At US Open

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Coco Gauff has become the third American teenager in history to win the women’s US Open title after staging a triumphant comeback against Aryna Sabalenka in a roller-coaster final. 

 

The 19-year-old struggled with nerves and some powerful play from her opponent early on before fighting back to prevail 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, and win the biggest title of her career. It is the first time in Gauff’s career that she has beaten a top-10 player in a major after dropping the opener. She has now won 12 matches in a row on the Tour which is her longest-ever streak. 

In what was a tense encounter at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, one of the most significant features of the match was Sabalenka’s erratic play. The Belarussian produced some blistering hitting but struggled with her consistency which is best illustrated by her winner-unforced error ratio of 25-46. Meanwhile, Gauff gradually weathered the storm en route to her fourth victory over Sabalenka in six meetings.

“I just knew that if I didn’t give it my all, then I would have no shot at winning,” the new champion said during her on-court interview. 
“Aryna is an incredible, incredible player. Congratulations on the No.1 ranking. It’s well-deserved. I always tell my team all the time that you’re a real nice person behind the scenes and the the competitiveness and that fire that you bring is what makes sports better.”

From the early stages of the match, it was evident that Sabalenka planned to dictate play with the use of some thunderous hitting. Although this all-or-nothing approach by the second seed produced some erratic tennis as she hit 14 unforced errors compared to eight winners during the opening set.

Sabalenka first drew blood in the opening game when she broke Gauff by firing a backhand winner. However, she squandered that lead just two games later with an error-stricken performance that allowed her opponent back into the match. Despite that blip and some inspiring defensive play from Gauff, she closed out the opener with relative ease with the help of a Gauff forehand shot into the net on set point. 

Since 2000, only one player had won a women’s US Open final after dropping the opener, which was Naomi Osaka in 2020. However, Gauff refused to back down. After saving break points at the start of the second frame, she capitalized on some patchy play coming from across the court to move to a 5-2 lead. Triggering an almighty cheer from a highly animated crowd. Sabalenka struggled at times with her footwork on the court, as well as dealing with slower balls. Best illustrated by a wild forehand from the soon-to-be world No.1 that gifted Gauff the second set. 

As Sabalenka continued to misfire on the court, Gauff surged through the decider without showing any signs of emotion. Nudging to two games from victory at 4-1, proceedings were briefly halted after Sabalenka requested a medical timeout for treatment on her left leg.

When play resumed yet another twist occurred with Gauff losing one of her break advantages but it didn’t derail her from the milestone victory. On her first championship point, she prevailed with a winning shot down the line. Prompting her to finally let out some emotion as she dropped to the ground in sheer relief. 

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” said Gauff. “A month ago, I won a 500 title, people were saying I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a Masters title, and people said that was as big as it was going to get.’
“Three weeks later I’m here with this trophy now. To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, they were adding gas to it. Now I’m burning so bright now.”

As for Sabalenka, the loss is a bitter pill to swallow. Since winning the Australian Open, she has been beaten in two Grand Slam semi-finals and the US Open final after claiming the first set. She was bidding to become the first singles player from her country to win the New York title. 

“​​I felt the love through the couple of weeks,” a tearful Sabalenka said. “I wanted to say congrats to Coco, you were unbelievable and deserve this title. I hope we play many more titles but with a different result!’
“My family are awake and watching so want to send them my love – sorry for this result! Thank you to my team, thank you guys.”

Gauff is the first American teenager to win a major title this century and the first to do so since Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open. As a result of the win, she will rise to No.3 in the WTA rankings on Monday behind Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka. 

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Daria Kasatkina Criticises Decision To Not Use Roof At Sweltering Pan Pacific Open

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Daria Kasatkina has taken a swipe at organizers at the Toray Pan Pacific Open for not using the roof to cover their premier court on Thursday due to the heat. 

 

The Russian played her second round match against Despina Papamichail in temperatures around 30 degrees with the humidity making it feel even warmer. Kasatkina battled to a 6-4, 6-4, win after spending more than two hours on the court. She dropped serve four times in the match but managed to break Papamichail seven times en route to victory. 

Speaking on the court following his latest tour win, the world No.13 admitted that she struggled in the conditions and implied that she believed the roof should have been closed to shield the players from the sun. Tokyo, which is where the tournament is staged, has experienced a record-breaking number of ‘extremely hot’ days this year with their autumn season being warmer than usual. Something that some warn could be a more regular occurrence due to climate change.

“We cannot do much about it. We are using the ice towels and some supplements to keep you hydrated. By at the end, you cannot fight with something you cannot control,” Kasatkina commented on the conditions during her on-court interview.
“I think in these kinds of conditions, if you have a roof, better maybe to close it. If you have these opportunities, better to use it than to make players almost die on the field.” She added. 

Kasatkina is through to her seventh Tour quarter-final of the season. Awaiting her in the next round will be second seed Jessica Pegula who beat Spain’s Cristina Bucșa 6-1, 6-2, in her second round match on Wednesday. It will be only the second Tour meeting between the two players and their first on a hard court. 

Elsewhere in Tokyo, another player to reach the last eight in France’s Caroline Garcia who beat Anhelina Kahlinina 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlychenkova defeated Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. 

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Barbora Krejcikova Does The Double In San Jose

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After what has been a challenging past few weeks on the Tour, Barbora Krejcikova has returned to the winner’s circle by claiming both the singles and doubles titles at the San Diego Open. 

 

The world No.13 battled to a marathon 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, win over Sofia Kenin in what was a clash of the former Grand Slam champions. Krejcikova was pushed to her limits throughout the two-and-a-half-hour clash with there being no break in the decider until the final game. It is the second singles title the Czech has won on the WTA Tour this season after Dubai and her seventh overall. 

“Normally I wouldn’t be here,” said Krejcikova, who received a wild card to play in the tournament “I really want to thank them (the tournament organisers). It was very special. I really enjoyed my stay here.”

Krejcikova’s run to the trophy has also seen her score wins over Beatriz Haddad Maia and Danielle Collins earlier in the week. She is the first player from her country to win the tournament. 

Following on from that triumph, the 27-year-old then clinched the doubles title alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova. The duo beat Collins and Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-4.

Krejcikova came into San Jose on a four-match losing streak which started at Wimbledon where she was forced to withdraw from her secound round clash due to a left leg injury. 

“I came here with not really good statistics after my injury, I didn’t actually win any matches,” she said. “So I just came here and I pretty much was hoping and believing that I could get the first win and go from there. It’s pretty special to be sitting here having won [the title].”

It is only the second time in Krejcikova’s career that she has won both the singles and doubles titles at the same event. The first time she did so was at the 2021 French Open where her partner in the doubles was also Siniakova.

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Ex-No.1 Ash Barty Stands By Retirement Decision

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Ashleigh Barty (AUS) playing against Angelique Kerber (GER) in the semi-final of the Ladies' Singles on Centre Court at The Championships 2021. Held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Day 10 Thursday 08/07/2021. Credit: AELTC/Jed Leicester

Despite the growing number of players returning to competitive tennis after giving birth, Ash Barty says she is contempt in retirement. 

 

Barty, who is still only 27 years old, stunned the sport at the start of 2022 when she announced her retirement from the sport just weeks after winning the Australian Open. She has won 15 WTA titles during her career with three of them being at Grand Slam tournaments. She also held the world No.1 spot for 121 weeks and earned more than $23.8M in prize money. 

The Australian returned to the media limelight on Friday by attending a special event to announce the return of the Brisbane International next year. It will be the first time the tournament has been held since the COVID pandemic with the women’s draw being increased from 32 to 48. However, no such changes will be made to the men’s draw. There will be a record prize money pool of AUS$3.1M. 

For those hoping that Barty might have a change of heart and return to competitive action at her home event in Brisbane, they are going to be disappointed. 

“I don’t have the time – I don’t have the time to train, I don’t have the time to prepare, and I have so many great memories out on this court, and now I just get to create new memories,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Barty as saying. 

“I’m certainly not coming out of retirement. Pat (Rafter) may be more likely than me.”

Earlier this year Caroline Wozniacki announced her return to tennis following a three-year retirement from the sport. Despite playing in only two WTA tournaments beforehand, she reached the fourth round of the US Open where she was defeated by Coco Gauff who went on to win the title. Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina returned to the Tour following the birth of her first child and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. 

Barty has previously said she would like to remain involved in tennis by helping support the rising stars of the game in her home country. Currently, Australia doesn’t have any players in the top 100 on the women’s Tour. In contrast, there are nine Australians in the top 100 on the men’s Tour. 

“It’s depth, you have to play at your top level, you have to be consistent across a 52-week calendar to keep your ranking up with the top of the world,” she said.
“I think it’s exciting for the women’s game, it creates hunger, passion and drive for girls wanting to be the best and knowing there’s an opportunity to take that top spot.
“There’s obviously not as many girls in the top 100 as we would like, but there’s plenty coming through that are learning their craft, developing.
“It takes time to understand how you think you can fit in, how you think you can grow into your play. I’m excited for the next five or 10 years to see where they can get to.”

The Australian tennis season will begin on December 29th with the United Cup. A mixed-team competition that will be held in Sydney and Perth. Two days later, the first singles events in Brisbane and Adelaide will get underway. 

The 2024 Australian Summer of Tennis calendar 

United Cup
Venue: Perth – RAC Arena, Sydney – Ken Rosewall Arena
Group Stage – 29 December 2023 to 5 January 2024
Finals – 6 to 7 January 2024, more details to be announced soon
Category: ATP / WTA international mixed team competition

Brisbane International
31 December 2023 to 7 January 2024
Venue: Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane
Category: WTA 500 / ATP 250
Draw size: WTA – 48 singles / 24 doubles; ATP – 32 singles, 24 doubles

Canberra International
31 December 2023 to 6 January 2024
Venue: Canberra Tennis Centre, Canberra
Category: ATP Challenger 125 / WTA 125
Draw size: ATP – 32 singles, 16 doubles; WTA – 32 singles, 16 doubles

Adelaide International
8 to 13 January 2024
Venue: The Drive, Adelaide
Category: WTA 500 / ATP 250
Draw size: WTA – 32 singles, 16 doubles; ATP – 28 singles, 24 doubles
 

Hobart International
8 to 13 January 2024
Venue: Domain Tennis Centre, Hobart
Category: WTA 250
Draw size: 32 singles, 16 doubles

AO Opening Week, including Australian Open qualifying (8 to 12 January)
8 to 14 January 2024
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne
Category: Grand Slam 
Draw size: Q128 singles

Australian Open
15 to 28 January 2024
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne
Category: Grand Slam
Draw size: 128 singles, 64 doubles 

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