Gauff, who has already played a final at Roland-Garros in 2022, will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2nd) on Saturday to try to win her first Grand Slam title. She had never made it past the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows. Gauff is the youngest American to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams, who in 1999 even won the first of her six titles at Flushing Meadows.
Like Queen Serena, Gauff was able to count on the massive support of the public. “At certain points, the public made so much noise that I thought I was losing my hearing, joked the player. But keep it up, hope it helps me on Saturday!” The Floridian climbed for the first time in the final of her national Major in the wake of a flamboyant month of August with two titles at stake just before coming to Flushing Meadows: Washington and the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati where she beat world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
Thursday, she emerged victorious from a generally unexciting match, in particular because studded with 61 unforced errors (25 for Gauff, 36 for Muchova), the most thrilling moment of which may have been her interruption by environmental activists. As the players were about to begin the second game of the second set, four people, according to the organization, stood up in the upper part of the stands of the immense Arthur-Ashe court and chanted “end fossil fuels”, stop the fossil fuels.
The referee preferred to interrupt the game and while the public repeatedly shouted “get them out” towards the activists, Gauff and Muchova were allowed to leave the court and return to the locker room while the situation was resolved. . Upon intervention by the police, three of the activists left peacefully, but the fourth stuck his bare feet to the ground. The police and the medical service took several minutes to unstick him before taking him out, his hands handcuffed behind his back. On court, Gauff looked like she was going to swallow the first set when she served at 5-1. But Muchova came back to 5-4.
The Czech then served to equalize at 5-5, but in a festival of unforced errors (12 for Gauff and 17 for Muchova over the first set), the American took over her opponent’s service for a third time to pocket the first round. In the second set, the two players kept their face-off until Gauff managed the break (notably taking advantage of a ball dutifully spiked in the corridor by Muchova) to lead 5-3 and serve for the match. . With superb cushioning, the American got a first match point, but the Czech saved her with great authority before unbreaking.
At 5-4 and 15/15, Gauff and Muchova finally played a spectacular point, won by the American, which brought the audience to their feet. The game then got heated, especially as Muchova saved four more match points at 6-5. But after an exchange of 40 shots, Gauff offered herself a sixth match point, which she converted this time.
