2023-09-09 02:02:00
Even Klima-Kleber couldn’t stop the 19-year-old US star on his way to the final of the US Open. The new world number one, Arina Sabalenka, is waiting there.
At 19 years old, she is still at the beginning of her career, but is now only one win shy of her, at least for now, peak. Coco Gauffmarketed as a “child prodigy” as a 15-year-old, can finally follow in the footsteps of her compatriots with her triumph at the US Open, her first Grand Slam title Serena and Venus Williams step. But the hurdle in the final in New York could hardly be much higher, as the Belarusian is waiting there Arina Sabalenka the new number one in the world.
The world number six also confirmed in the semifinals how unimpressed Gauff, who achieved her first WTA tournament victory in Linz in 2019, is now. Neither the Czech Paris finalist Karolina Muchova, nor climate activists were able to stop Gauff. An action in which a man in the audience had his bare feet taped to the floor while loudly and visibly advocating for the end of fossil fuels in an organized group led to a 50-minute interruption. Gauff then came out of the locker room cool and defeated Muchova 6:4, 7:5 in a high-class match towards the end. “I wasn’t mad at the people,” Gauff said afterwards.
In the second Grand Slam final after the French Open last year, Gauff is playing for her first title. Nothing less than this counts, as she made it clear immediately after the semi-final: “The final is an incredible achievement, but I’m definitely not satisfied with it yet.” It almost became an all-American final, which Sabalenka was able to thwart at the last moment. Madison Keys was already serving for the match at 5:4 in the second set, but couldn’t get her nerves under control and had to admit defeat 6:0, 6:7(1), 6:7(5) in a dramatic duel. The Belarusian can thus win her second major title after the Australian Open in January on Saturday (10 p.m. CET/live sportdeutschland.tv). It would also be the culmination of a successful run that would make her the undisputed Pole for a long time Every Swiatek on Monday as number one on the tennis throne. The final is tough.
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