The nightmare in the way of the American’s US Open final dream
FLUSHING MEADOWS — Arthur Ashe Stadium was a microcosm of the United States on Thursday night, an arena ready to celebrate and holler for a nation watching on.
Still awaiting their first grand slam champion since 2020 and first here in New York since Sloane Stephens in 2017, an all-American final was one game away. Coco Gauff having sealed her place already, Madison Keys now serving for the match in the US Open semi-final that followed.
Keys had already won 11 of 14 games, racing to a remarkable first-set bagel that no one saw coming, but as Ashe held its breath, Aryna Sabalenka blew the house down, one huff and puff as she broke back to love, a second to pinch the set, and a third to seal the match.
The soon-to-be world No 1 had bulldozed her way into the last four, losing no more than five games in each of her five previous rounds, and this time the Belarusian showed steel, coming back from the brink twice, having done so again when 4-2 down in the decider before winning the tie-break 10-5, moments after accidentally celebrating victory when securing her seventh point.
The Australian Open champion, then French Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist, and now a first-time finalist here at Flushing Meadows. It has been some grand slam showing for Sabalenka in 2023, and what she would give to mark her dethroning of Iga Swiatek in the rankings on Monday by winning this trophy on Saturday.
And Sabalenka isn’t stupid. Having already crushed one American dream, she knows there will be overwhelming support inside Ashe and beyond for Saturday’s opponent, the home favourite, with Gauff now just two sets away from a first major triumph in the singles, a feat the 19-year-old has been tipped to achieve for years already.
“Coco, I mean, she’s moving really well,” said Sabalenka. “She’s hungry. She kind of has nothing to lose. She knows that the crowd is going to support her. I’m still hoping that maybe some of them will be supporting me. Just a little bit. Just sometimes. Please?”
How to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka in UK
Date: Saturday 9 September
Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York
UK start time: 9pm BST
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sport Action from 8.30pm
Stream: Sky Sports app, website and NOW
i predicts: Sabalenka in three – Gauff may lead H2H 3-2 but the Indian Wells meeting is firmly in our minds, Sabalenka winning 6-4 6-0 in March this year
Gauff has shown grit herself this tournament, coming through three-setters on three occasions while carrying the weight of a nation’s hopes. A bridesmaid so far at slams, losing the 2022 French Open final and yet to make another semi-final until now, she showed her time could be now when winning warm-up events in Washington and Cincinnati, and made her second major final with a straight sets victory over Karolina Muchova.
“I grew up watching this tournament so much so it means a lot to me to be in the final,” said Gauff. “A lot to celebrate but the job’s not done.”
The “job’s not done” was a nod to Kobe Bryant, Gauff admitted, adding: “He had an incredible mentality. One of the things is when he’s up in the NBA Finals, whatever lead they have, he doesn’t celebrate. He’d give himself a pat on the back but move on. So that’s the mentality that I have. I’m trying to enjoy the moment but also knowing I still have more work to do.
“The final is an incredible achievement but it’s something that I’m not satisfied with yet.”
Gauff heads into the final on the back of a gutsy win amid the disruption of a protest, but if Sabalenka smelled blood against Keys she may well do so again, with Gauff pegged back from 5-1 to 5-4 before taking the first set and then squandering five match points before converting her sixth in the second.
It’s experience that should stand Gauff in good stead, but Sabalenka will view that as an opportunity, and having been so close to defeat on Thursday, she may find herself hitting freer than the woman opposite her.
The smart money is on Sabalenka, therefore, but a Gauff victory would be the true fairy tale. A popular win for this singles champion in waiting.
It should be some watch, and though Gauff leads the head-to-head 3-2, Sabalenka – now a devastating 2.0 version of her former self – won their only meeting in 2023, dropping just four games at Indian Wells. She’ll take some beating, as we’ve already seen.
