Roland-Garros: Coco Gauff, the coronation of spring for the American

Three years after being swept away in two sets by Iga Swiatek in her first final in Paris, the world No. 2 has this time managed to inscribe her name in the French Grand Slam list of winners, a decade after the last triumph of an American in Paris, that of her illustrious compatriot Serena Williams.

Just after Aryna Sabalenka's 70th unforced error, Coco Gauff, who had won 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4, fell to the ground and lay down along the baseline, struggling to believe that she had indeed won her second major trophy, 21 months after the first one she had already won against the Belarusian at the 2023 US Open.

After a warm embrace with the world number one, Coco Gauff fell to her knees again, this time in Sabalenka's court, before going to hug her loved ones in the stands while the Belarusian vented her frustration off the court.

With this 10th title to her name, Gauff ends a seven-month drought, as she had not lifted a trophy since her victory at the WTA Finals in Riyadh in early November.

Above all, she stands out as the main obstacle to Sabalenka's growing influence on the women's tour, while former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, three-time defending champion in Paris, has not won a single trophy since her victory in Paris in June 2024.

As at the 2023 US Open, Gauff once again upset her elder after losing the first set.

Feverish in the service

Despite clear progress on clay in recent months, evidenced by a final at the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, a third title in Madrid at the beginning of May and a prestigious victory in the semi-finals against Swiatek, Sabalenka suffered another disappointment in the final of a major tournament on Saturday, just over four months after her surprise defeat in the Australian Open final against another American, Madison Keys.

On a windswept Philippe-Chatrier court, Gauff first had to survive the Sabalenka tornado.

Alternating between powerful serves, forehand slaps, and drop shots, the 27-year-old Belarusian quickly pulled away to lead 4-1. But things then went haywire, and Gauff exploited the Minsk native's unforced errors to come back from two breaks down, level at 4-4, and ultimately push her opponent into a tiebreak, which Sabalenka won 7/5 after a thrilling 1 hour and 17 minutes.

But there was nothing ephemeral about the Belarusian's drop in form, as she struggled to get her serve, being broken nine times out of fifteen.

Having left the court for a few moments after the first set, the American had clearly digested her disappointment when she returned to the Centre Court, as she inflicted a swift 6-2 on her opponent in around thirty minutes to level the score at one set each.

Despite her nervousness on serve (8 double faults), Gauff managed to maintain her commitment more often than Sabalenka in the deciding set, won 6-4 after 2 hours and 38 minutes of battle.

Before winning the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, Gauff had only one clay court title to her name, at the modest Parma tournament in 2021. And she had lost two finals in Madrid and Rome, which are now forgotten.