Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka: How to watch US Women’s Open final as Americans chase glory on home soil

CNN
—

And then there were two.

After two weeks of excitement, it’s the ladies US Open The draw ends on Saturday with a gritty final between the home favourites Coco Jouf And world No. 2 Arina Sabalenka.

Both players produced impressive tennis on their way to the final, and while Sabalenka will enter the match as the favourite, Jove She will be confident she can clear the final hurdle of a partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The action for this season’s Grand Slam title begins at 4 p.m. ET.

Viewers in the US can watch all the action on ESPN, while Sky Sports will broadcast the matches in the UK.

Gauff’s first major championship?

The last time Gauff and Sabalenka met was in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells tournament last March, and the Belarusian easily won 6-4 and 6-0. However, Saturday’s final should be a very different contest, with Gauff’s form improving rapidly in the six months since that defeat.

The 19-year-old has won three WTA titles this season, including the The biggest of her career is in Cincinnati Just before the US Open, she won 17 of her last 18 matches. She is the youngest American woman to reach a US Open final since 17-year-old Serena Williams did so in 1999.

“Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT. I hope she does half what she did,” Gauff said, according to the WTA.

This will be the second Grand Slam final of Gauff’s career after reaching the final of the French Open in 2022, where she was quickly defeated by Iga Świątek.

But after her 6-4, 7-5 semi-final win over Karolina Mutova, Gauff spoke of the improvement in her mentality, as she went from being someone with imposter syndrome to now believing she can compete with the best players in the world.

“I think it is [imposter syndrome] “It’s still a part of me,” she said. “It’s definitely something I do better. Even after [winning Washington] DC, I was still like, “Okay, I beat up on some good people, but maybe I could catch up with them on my days off.”

“That’s definitely still a part of me, but I think I give myself more credit and speaking things out into existence is real. I’ve been trying to talk more positively about myself and actually tell myself that I’m a great player.

The sixth seed told reporters that after her first-round loss at Wimbledon she was “preparing for next year” before adding that she was “really proud of myself” because of the way I performed at Flushing Meadows.

“I’ve been more focused on myself and my expectations of myself,” Gove told Reuters. “I truly believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do this.”

Even her Semi-final against Madison KeysSabalenka was dominant in New York, never dropping a set and never dropping more than five games in a match.

However, she was put under intense pressure by the American on Thursday and had to recover from a tough 6-0 loss in the first set, eventually winning 0-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (10-5). After two and a half hours of tough tennis.

Such was the prospect of Keys’ victory late in the second set, that Gauff was asked about the prospect of facing her fellow American in her post-match press conference.

Sabalenka’s run to the US Open final is the end of a remarkable year in which she won three titles – including her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and her sixth Masters 1000 title in Madrid. Whether you win or lose on Saturday, you will be crowned world No. 1 on Monday.

Despite winning the last time they met, Sabalenka praised Gauff’s development this season and said she is a “much better” player now than she was six months ago.

“I’ve improved a lot,” Sabalenka told reporters after qualifying for the semi-finals. “So he’s a different player, we don’t really like to think about that match.

“Going into this final, I think I have to focus on myself and prepare myself for another fight. No matter what, just keep fighting and keep giving my best and doing my best.

“You know, there’s not much you can do, what else can you do? You just have to be there and you have to fight for it.”

There is no doubt that Sabalenka will be playing in front of large crowds in the final on Saturday, but she has already overcome the tense atmosphere against Keys on Thursday and said she feels confident in dealing with the occasion.

“Of course, I would [to] have someone else or [the] The crowd is more or less the same for both players, but today’s match I think will help me in the final because I will be fine with this support. She said, “I’ll be fine.”

“I still hope some of them will support me, even a little. Just sometimes, please. Please,” she laughed.