Coco Gauff says French Open title one I really wanted

PARIS - Coco Gauff said a maiden French Open trophy was “one I really wanted” after securing the title with victory over Aryna Sabalenka on June 7.

The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7),6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros.

“I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,” said American star Gauff.

“So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn’t get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.

“Today, playing Aryna, I was just, ‘I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match’.”

It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager and had reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years.

“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,” added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final.

“When the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her, pretty emotional when the Polish anthem got played. I was, like, ‘Wow, this is such a cool moment’.

“So when the (USA) anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections.”

‘Not a day for great tennis’

Gauff is the first woman to beat a world number one in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at