The Top Two Players In The World Compete For The Title At Roland Garros

Aryna Sabalenka’s strength is often highlighted as the key to her success on the women’s tour. However, not much attention is given to the tall Belarusian’s determination, which is the foundation of her explosive serve and powerful strokes.

Coco Gauff, who will face Sabalenka in her second French Open final on Saturday for the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, summed up her opponent’s dominance in strokes, serve, and mindset in a nutshell.

“On the court, she is able to create big strokes and big winners”, states the world number two. Additionally, she has a fighter’s mindset. No matter the outcome of the match, she will continue to play.

After playing under pressure for the most of her professional career, the 21-year-old American is accustomed to pressure, but Sabalenka loves it. She likes to be the target and be in the lead. That’s when she takes off.

The two top-ranked players on the WTA Tour, one of whom was a juvenile prodigy and the other a late bloomer, have split their five matches each. In their most recent meeting, which took place on clay in Madrid in January 2024, In the last four encounters, Sabalenka has won three times.

The 27-year-old has experienced significant challenges both on and off the court, the most devastating of which being the unexpected death of her father, Sergey, in 2019 at the age of 43. After a few years, she experienced technical difficulties with her serve. Throughout a large portion of the 2022 season, when she committed 428 double faults in 55 games, Sabalenka was in excruciating pain. After initially believing that her serve issue was psychological, she was eventually able to attribute it to biomechanics. Sabalenka played through the storm rather than taking a break to sharpen her skills.

“Being aggressive and trying to get my shots”, Gauff stated, will be crucial in the final. She will undoubtedly appear aggressive because she has outstanding big shots. I must try my hardest to refute that. Some of our encounters have been up and down (in the past), with me winning some in straight sets and vice versa. Anything may happen on Saturday, and I’m excited to face the world number one player.

Gauff, who leads the competition in double faults with 33 in her six matches, was broken 18 times during the tournament, while Sabalenka, who has 12 double faults, has been broken 12 times. This is despite the fact that the top two players on the service speed rankings, 197 and 195 kmph, are not that far apart. That statistic has the potential to be the deciding factor in the final.

Clay has been her hardest obstacle among surfaces, according to Sabalenka, who is competing in her sixth major final and the first of her Grand Slam on a non-hard court. According to the three-time major champion, “I’ve been told my entire life that clay is not my thing, so I was lacking confidence”. “My game has improved so much over the years because to the team’s efforts, and I now feel very at ease playing on clay and truly love it”.

The American, who has reached the finals of the Madrid and Rome Opens, is competing in her sixth French Open, while Sabalenka is in her eighth. My physical condition significantly improved for the clay. Being physically fit and prepared to work for every point on clay is crucial. “My shots are more varied”, Sabalenka remarked.

The Top Two Players In The World Compete For The Title At Roland Garros

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