The 6th-seeded Cori Coco Gauff (USA) and the 2nd-seeded Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) will play at the final of the US Open 2023, which has a prize pool of 29,488,400 USD.
Cori Coco Gauff was the first finalist after defeating Karolina Muchova by 2-0 (6:4, 7:5) in the semi-final clash. The match lasted almost two hours, with the 19-years-old player becoming the first American woman in the final in New York since 2019.
The match started perfectly for Cori Coco Gauff, who made an early break and took the initiative, leading 3:1. She then broke her opponent for the second time in the sixth game for 5:1 and only had to serve for the set. At that moment, however, she made some mistakes that fail to close the set on her serve and even conceded a second break to make it 5:4. However, she managed to mobilize and in the tenth game she broke Karolina Muchova’s serve for the third time to win the set 6:4.
The second set started more equally, with each player winning her serve. However, Cori Coco Gauff was the first to make a break in the eighth game and lead 5:3. She lost her serve for the set and immediately allowed the break to be returned for 5:4, having previously missed her first match point. The 13th game turned out to be key, in which the two fought hard on the serve of Karolina Muchova, who allowed herself to fall behind by 15:40. However, Cori Coco Gauff missed the first 2 match points, and then 2 more, but finally won the game, closing the set and the match in her favor.
Thus, Cori Coco Gauff will play for the first time in her career in the final of the US Open. This will be the second major final in her career after the French Open / Roland Garros in 2022.
The second finalist is the 2nd-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian tuned over Madison Keys (USA) in the second semi-final clash, preventing an all-American final. Aryna Sabalenka prevailed by 2-1 (0:6, 7:6, 7:6) over her 28-year-old opponent, qualifying for the first time in her career for the final in New York.
The first set was absolutely perfect for Madison Keys. The American dominated in every respect and did not give a single game to her rival, who clearly could not find her game. This was the first lost set by Aryna Sabalenka since the beginning of the tournament.
The second set was quite different. At the start, Madison Keys again had the initiative and made an early break for 2:1, but allowed it to be immediately returned. However, the American took the next game on Aryna Sabalenka’s serve and led 3:2, and then consolidated the break with her serve for 4:2. An exchange of games followed, reaching 5:4 in favor of Madison Keys. She then served for the match, but played one of her weakest games and conceded a break point and the Belarusian player remained in the match. In the end, it came to a tiebreak, in which Aryna Sabalenka was absolutely decisive and gave only a point to her opponent to win 7-1, thus equalizing the score in sets.
After the end of the second set, Madison Keys requested the intervention of a physical therapist and returned to the locker room, apparently experiencing pain somewhere in the back area. However, she came back and was able to continue the match.
The third set was again quite dramatic, as again the American tennis player was the first to strike, making a break for 4:2. This time, however, she was unable to use the impetus in her play and allowed the break to be returned instantly. By the end of the set, each tennis player was winning her serve, and a super tiebreak had to be played. In it, v again dominated and managed to impose her will with 10-5 points, thus winning both the set and the match.
Thus, Aryna Sabalenka will be playing in her second Grand Slam final, having already won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. Even before this match, it was clear that she will lead the world rankings from next week.
