Sabalenka’s Ras missed a chance against Goff in the French Open: “This guy hurts a lot”
Paris – When Coco Gauff takes a photo in court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate her victory on Paris clay, her opponent on the other side of the referee chair is filled with anger and sadness.
As Roland-Garros officials prepare the court for the trophy ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka sat in the distance and then picked up a towel to cover her face. When it finally arrived to speak, Sabalenka was silent for a long time, as if on the edge of tears.
The assessment of her performance was ruthless when she finally picked up the microphone to solve the Roland-Garros crowd.
“To be honest, this incident caused a lot of damage,” she said. “It really hurts to show such a terrible tennis ball in the final.”
The highest ranking Sabalenka won the first set as her high-risk approach initially brought dividends. But once Gauff found his big stride, the Belarusian mistakes became more and more frequent, and she lost the game between the two highest players in the world, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.
Sabalenka hit 37 winners but ended the game with a staggering 70 unmandatory turnovers – Sabalenka also dropped her nine games compared to Gauff’s 30 points.
“I think I’m over-emotional,” she said. “I would say I’m not really dealing with my spirit well. So basically that’s it. I just made the mistake of not compulsory. I don’t think she won the game because she played incredible; it’s just because I looked from the outside, from the outside, like looking from the outside, like a relaxed ball.”
Given the surface of Sabalenka’s struggle for years to slow her game and after she ended Iga Swiatek’s unbeaten streak in the French Open in the semi-finals.
“You’ve been fighting a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champions, IGAs, and going out and playing really badly,” she said in a post-match interview. “To be honest, this is the worst tennis I’ve ever played in the end, and I don’t know a few months.”
Sabalenka also complained about the weather. During the finals, the retractable roof on the Central Court remained open and Sabalenka was clearly upset by the strong winds blew on the court.
“The conditions are bad,” said the three-time major champion. “When she hits the ball, at some point, the wind just makes the ball fly wildly, you know, I’m late every time.”
This is the second major Sabalenka lost to Gauff after the 2023 U.S. Open, and she also won the first set. Sabalenka won their recent meeting in Clay this year in Madrid and believes she has the weapons to beat the Americans on the biggest stage.
“It’s another tough Grand Slam final against Coco,” Sabalenka said. “In the final, I had another terrible performance against Coco. I had to take a step back and look at it from one perspective and try to finally learn the course because I can’t fight her against her in the Grand Slam final every time and play such a terrible tennis ball and emotionally, not easy, but emotionally winning those wins.”
