The US Open
Gauff pours cold water on Sabalenka title dream
Coco Gauff splashed herself in the face with water during a pause after losing the first set of the US Open women’s final to Ayna Sabalenka.
And the shock wet awakening worked wonders for the 19-year-old as she fulfilled her tennis dream with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback victory over the newly crowned world No. 1 to win the home Grand Slam title.
The first American woman to lift the New York trophy since Sloane Stephens in 2017,said she gave herself a serious talking-to in the off-court restroom after dropping the opener to her Eastern European opponent.
“I went to the bathroom because I was nervous. I was washing my hands, I put some water on my face, and I was, like, Okay,
I’ve got to just reset and redo it,” she said.
“I went into this match like it was any other match. I honestly wasn’t nervous going in.
“She was just playing great tennis, and I knew today was going to be one of those problem-solving tough matches because she’s a tough opponent.
“I’m obviously happy with the result.”
The winner’s accomplishment fulfilled the hopes which accompanied her breakthrough as a young teen who won her first title in Linz in 2019 as a lucky loser from the Austrian qualifying rounds.
Saturday’s victory at Flushing Meadows capped a standout summer hardcourt season for the Florida player, who has surged on cement since losing in the Wimbledon first round.
She picked up a 500 series title in Washington last month and then won Cincinnati a fortnight later to move into position for her Open triumph.
‘When I lost the first set I still felt I was into the match,” she said. “I said I would give it my all, whatever happens happens.
“Even on match point, 40 – love, technically the match was on my racquet.
“It didn’t feel like I had (almost) won. It was crazy. I was just trying my best to just focus on the point ahead of me.”
Gauff’s Grand Slam title came less than 18 months after she lost the Roland Garros final last season to Iga Swiatek.
“This (2023) French Open (quarter-final finish) is honestly where it changed,” she said.
“I felt pressure to back up the final, and I obviously didn’t. So I had to to reset. Wimbledon was a tough, tough loss.
“I thought I was playing good tennis leading up to that.”
Gauff said her title performance at Flushing Meadows “wasn’t really a change in the match mentality. I felt like I was playing as good as I could in the moment.
“She’s a tough power player, you’re always playing on your back foot honestly against her. I was just trying my best.”
Gauff said the match tide turned thanks to support from her home crowd of 24,000 in the Ashe stadium.
“The momentum did shift a little bit when I passed her on the backhandcrosscourt pass and I got the crowd involved,
“After that I just felt like I knew I was coming home with this (trophy).
The Australian Open
Wimbledon goes modern with electronic reviews
Wimbledon will bow to the high-tech future by introducing limited electronic reviews of line calls on major courts at the Championships, the club revealed on Saturday.
The All England Club will allow the technology on showcourts including Centre Court, No. 1 and four others. During controversial moments, competitors will be allowed to ask the chair umpire for a review of the point in question.
The wizardry is coming late to Wimbledon having been used at the US Open since 2023 and later adapted by the Australian Open. Roland Garros relies on marks in its clay surface to determine line calls.
Under the rules, players can ask for the review any number of times, with electronic line-calling now in effect at the grass-court major for a second year after the 2025 elimination of human line judges.
ATP
Sinner claims full house with Indian Wells win
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner became the youngest man to complete the full set of hard-court victories by beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) in the searing heat of Indian Wells.
The 24 year old Italian, didn’t face a break point during the final nor did he drop a set on his way to claiming his first title of the year and his 25th overall.
Sinner has won both hard court Grand Slams, with victories at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and at the US Open in 2024.
In addition he has lifted all six Masters 1000 series hard court titles – adding the Indian Wells title to victories in Miami, Toronto, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris plus the season-ending ATP Finals.
Only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have achieved the same feat.
Main photo:- Jannik Sinner lifts Indian Wells Trophy – by ATPTour.com
Indian wells
Her way or the highway for Raducanu on court
Emma Raducanu remained defiant at the start of the Indian Wells Masters that if she does hire a new coach, it might not be to try and shape her game.
The Brit who won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier and then suffered a four-year drop in form due to injury, is in the market for a mentor – but only if he or she conforms to her vision for her tennis.
“Right now, it’s more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself,” the 23-year-old told the BBC. “I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit.
“So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit.
“I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.
“I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it’s not necessarily the right decision.
“I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box.”
Raducanu reached a WTA fiak in early February after exiting in the Australian Open second round. She lost both matches she played last month in the Gulf, at Doha and Dubai.
She is entering the first Masters of the season with former coach Mark Petchey filling in ad hoc in between his TV broadcast commentating duties.
But that solution is temporary. “With Mark I knew he’d be in Indian Wells so I asked him to come out a few days earlier just to do some stuff with me on the court and try to feel back in a better way with my game,” the No. 24 said.
“At the start of the year I didn’t feel too good but the last few days I’ve been feeling better.
“It’s not something that has really been organised going forward but I knew he would be here and it’s been great, I always love being on court with him.”
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