"The match unfolded like the 2023 US Open final," Davenport analyzes Sabalenka's loss in the Roland-Garros final
Aryna Sabalenka will not claim her first Roland-Garros title this year. Despite a strong start in the final, the Belarusian world No. 1 ultimately fell to Coco Gauff, her WTA ranking successor, in three sets (6-7, 6-2, 6-4).
While Gauff secured her second Grand Slam crown, Sabalenka failed to build on her semifinal victory against three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.
Speaking as a consultant for TNT Sports, Lindsay Davenport discussed the reasons behind the three-time Major winner's defeat this Saturday afternoon, suggesting she struggled to focus on her game.
"She spent so much energy getting frustrated, looking at her team, and being angry at herself—while on the other side of the net, Coco (Gauff) gave her no emotional energy to feed off.
Coco stepped onto the court determined not to let anything disrupt her, to stay completely steady. But in this final, Aryna (Sabalenka) reverted to how she was years ago, when her emotions took over.
Many of us thought she had moved past that phase, being world No. 1 and winning all those Grand Slam titles, but it all resurfaced here.
Honestly, the match played out like the 2023 US Open final—it was the same story (Gauff had beaten Sabalenka in three sets in New York). Sabalenka was so frustrated that she couldn't focus on her job, which was winning points under extremely tough conditions," the former American player explained to *Tennis Up To Date*.
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