Gauff’s growth: Coco targets more Grand Slam glory

“My first final here I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened,” she remembered of the 6-1 6-3 defeat, which left her in tears.

“Obviously here [this year] I have a lot more confidence just from playing a Grand Slam final before and doing well in one.

“I think going into Saturday I'll just give it my best shot and try to be as calm and relaxed as possible.”

Gauff’s next major final came just over a year later where she faced Sabalenka, recovering from a set down and riding vociferous crowd support to win her first Grand Slam title.

It capped a magical US summer hardcourt swing, given she also won the Washington DC and Cincinnati titles.

Yet in a revealing interview, she expressed surprise at winning her first major title in New York.

“I never thought US Open would have been where it would happen,” she laughed in a Tennis Channel appearance. “I always thought it would have been Roland Garros, because all my best results have been on clay.”

The facts and figures show exactly that – Roland Garros is by far her best Slam.

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