09/06/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | JUNE 9, 2025

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Sour grapes? Sabalenka comments not fair, says Gauff after world No. 1 downplays Coco’s victory C OCO GAUFF said Aryna Sabalenka’s suggestion that she would have lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek was not “fair” after the American won her first Roland Garros title by beating the World No. 1. Honestly hurts. “I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that’s hurt.” To add to an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka added: “She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. played her I won in straight sets. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen. “The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final. Ű BY JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

SHORTS Win is for Americans who look like me, says champ NEWLY-CROWNED French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil. “It means a lot (to win the title), and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things – like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” she said, smiling but without elaborating further. “But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people. “You know, I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.” Tequila, gummy bears to ease Aryna’s pain ARYNA SABALENKA plans to drown the sorrows of her Roland Garros final collapse with tequila and gummy bears on the Greek island of Mykonos, after what she called the worst performance of her recent career on Saturday. Sabalenka looked on course for the title when she surged into a 4 1, 40-0 lead in the opening set, but what followed was a spectacular meltdown. She struggled with her serve, dishing up six double faults, and Gauff’s victory was more down to Sabalenka’s collapse than the American’s level of play. “Thank you my team for the support, I’m sorry for this terrible final. As always I will come back stronger,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said. Sabalenka plans to take time off and forget about tennis for a while. “I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar. I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and this crazy – if I could swear, I would swear right now, but this crazy thing that happened today,” she said. “I think everyone understands. I’m just trying to be very polite right now, but there is no other word that could describe what just happened today on the court. “Tequila, gummy bears and swimming, being like a tourist for a couple of days.”

“Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”

“It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘let’s see if you can handle this.’”

In difficult, windy conditions, Gauff fought from a set down to defeat Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6 4 and win her second grand slam title on the Paris clay. However, a disgruntled Sabalenka criticised her own performance, in which she made 70 unforced errors, and said “it was the worst final I have ever played”. Sabalenka had defeated Swiatek in the semifinals, to end the Pole’s 26-match winning run at Roland Garros, but could not get the job done as she lost to Gauff for her second grand slam final defeat in a row. “That hurts,” Sabalenka said. “Especially when you’ve been playing really great tennis during the whole week, when you’ve been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion (Qinwen Zheng), Iga and then you go out, and you play really bad. “Like I think Iga... I think she would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts.

Gauff explained how she adjusted her game and handled the conditions to add to her 2023 US Open triumph, which also came against Sabalenka. “It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,” Gauff said. “I was, like, ‘this is going to be a tough day’. “I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. It really came down to the last few points, but overall I’m just really happy with the fight that I managed today. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and that’s all that matters.” – The Independent

Sabalenka also said: “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.” Gauff said that while she respected both Sabalenka and Swiatek, she could not agree with Sabalenka’s assessment and said that she did a better job of dealing with the conditions. “I mean, I don’t agree with that,” Gauff replied as she appeared at her press conference next to the French Open trophy. “I’m here sitting here (as the champion). “No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I

Coco Gauff celebrates with the trophy after winning the women’s

singles final against Aryna Sabalenka. – REUTERSPIC

The ‘one I really wanted’

COCO GAUFF said a maiden French Open trophy was “one I really wanted” after securing the title with victory over Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday. The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5 7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world No. 1 in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros. “I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,” said American star Gauff. “So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn’t get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.” It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager and had reached at least the quarterfinals in Paris in each of the previous four years. “That ceremony when Iga won, I just

he’s not a good player. He’s a great player.” Such relentless form, Scheffler said, comes from being patient and smart when playing with the lead. “I try and bring the same level of intensity to Thursday as you do Sunday,” Scheffler said. “So when you’re coming out here late on Sunday, nothing really changes for me because I try to bring that intensity to the first tee on Thursday.” – AFP American film director and diehard New York Knicks fan Spike Lee was in attendance and celebrated with Gauff after her victory. “It was honestly the first time I really met him up close,” Gauff told a press conference. Having spotted Lee watching her in previous matches, including at the US Open, Gauff was thrilled to see him courtside again during the warm-up against Sabalenka. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Spike Lee is there’,” she said. “I thought, if I win this match, the first person I’m going to see is Spike Lee.” And she did, making a beeline for Lee to share a joyful celebration despite the Knicks’ painful loss in the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals the previous week. “I wanted to tell him that even though the Knicks didn’t win, I gave him something to cheer for,” Gauff said. – AFP/Reuters

remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,” added the world No. 2, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final. “When the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her, pretty emotional when the Polish anthem got played. I was, like,‘Wow, this is such a cool moment’. “So when the (USA) anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections.” Gauff is the first woman to beat a world No. 1 in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2005. It was her first title since lifting the WTA Finals trophy last year, after suffering final defeats in both the Madrid and Italian Opens to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively.

Scheffler sizzling with three wins heading into US Open

TOP-RANKED Scottie Scheffler enters this week’s US Open with three victories in four starts, including a third career major title, and will be the man to beat at Oakmont. The 28-year-old American won last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow after capturing Masters green jackets in 2022 and 2024 and has three top-seven finishes in his past four US Open starts. “Scottie is obviously the best there is right now,” US rival Rickie Fowler said. “He’s someone that obviously has proven he’s in very much control of his game.”

He won by eight strokes at the Byron Nelson, five shots at the PGA for his largest major win margin and four at the Memorial. “Look at the record he has had the last few years. It’s unbelievable,” said 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, the Memorial host. “He’ll compete to what he has to do. He doesn’t want to brag about what he does but he has the ability to bring his level to whatever level it needs to be. That’s what good players do. And

Scheffler defended his title the previous week at the PGA Memorial tournament, his ninth win in a row when leading after 54 holes, and won the Byron Nelson last month by matching the lowest 72-hole stroke total in PGA Tour history. After winning nine times last year, including Paris Olympic gold, and bouncing back from a right hand injury that sidelined him for a month at the start of this season, Scheffler has found his most dominant form.