Coco Gauff showcased remarkable resilience in her French Open final victory over Aryna Sabalenka, despite losing a challenging first set 6-7 (5). Gauff faced initial pressure but transformed her disappointment into an advantage, ultimately winning the next two sets convincingly. Sabalenka's early lead and subsequent loss of focus contributed to her downfall. Gauff noted that losing the first set freed her to play more relaxed, allowing her to seize control of the match. This match not only solidified Gauff's status as a two-time Grand Slam champion but also highlighted her mental strength under pressure.
But Gauff has a different relationship to pressure. Losing the first set in the way she did set the stage for her to take the match with relative ease.
Gauff won the next two sets in about as much time as it took her to lose the first. "I was able to loosen up after that and play a little bit freer," she said.
Facing that level of disappointment, many players would wilt. The brutality of the tennis scoring system is such that the closer a set is, the more energy and good tennis will end up wasted.
Sabalenka faltered and allowed Gauff to break her serve and then hold, kicking off a gnarly run of five straight breaks that led into a tiebreak.
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