Don’t let Coco Gauff have a sniff of victory. Don’t get in a situation where a match becomes about more than just the tennis. Don’t open the door even a little bit for her to knock down.
Because if you’re on the other side of the net against this special 21-year old from Atlanta via Delray Beach, Florida, and there’s a big trophy on the line, there might not be anybody in sports mentally tougher or better prepared for the ugliness of a true battle.
Gauff won a second Grand Slam singles title on Saturday at her favorite tournament, beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to take home the French Open title she has long desired. And Gauff earned it the only way she could have: With her mind, with her desire, with her steadiness and her willingness to get down and dirty in the red clay of Roland Garros.
It is a surface that rewards all the qualities Gauff brings to the table, and on a windy day in Paris, she did what she does best. She dragged a Grand Slam final into the mud, made it a battle of attrition and a test of patience, and came out the other side with a few streaks of terre battue on her back and a big silver trophy in her arms.
The last year in women’s tennis has been largely about Sabalenka’s evolution into a complete player and the otherworldly power of her strokes. But this match? It wasn’t just about the forehands and the backhands. If it were, Gauff probably wouldn’t have won.
