Key events
Gauff 1-3 Sabalenka*
Big cheers as Gauff wins the first point. They want to see a long match. Sabalenka wants this done with a minimum of fuss. The serving is fierce, as is the forehand. This is the stuff that saw off Swiatek. But Gauff is not retreating, and forces and error for 30-30. No matter, a bomb of serve flies through for an ace. A short rally sees Gauff net. Sabalenka backs up her break.
Sabalenka lands a break!
Gauff* 1-2 Sabalenka
The first double fault hands Sabalenka a 0-30 lead, then a huge, clatter lands her three break points. The radar is working just fine, and she sees out the break with a drop shot and high-end net work. That’s worrying for Gauff.
Gauff 1-1 Sabalenka*
Huge second serve delivers an ace. Then a bullying backhand races her to 30-0. It’s the Belarussian hitting the truer, and Gauff’s speed will be required for the battle ahead. 40-0 becomes game. Huge serving, a far more comfortable hold.
We’re underway, and it’s Gauff serving first.
Gauff* 1-0 Sabalenka
The first point goes to the American. The roof is open, and the second point sees Gauff balloon her shot. She then feels the Sabalenka pressure to go 15-30 down. Big serve levels it. Sabalenka chases the second serve but Gauff lands the win for 40-30. And serves out. A good hold.
Chris Evert, who won this tournament seven times, has tipped Coco Gauff for the title. Chrissie won 20 Grand Slams overall. Incredible. And yet played second fiddle to Martina Navratilova. Those were the days of No 1 v No 2. And so is this.
The photo call is done and so are the handshakes, so it’s time for the knock-up.
The players take to the stairs and the corridor to the Philippe Chatrier court, with Coco Gauff wired for sound and clad in that leather jacket. Sabalenka hasn’t bothered with a jacket. She’s all business. But also has headphones on. What music do they listen to? Surely M-People’s Search For The Hero is a bit outdated now.
Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “I’m looking forward to watching (terrestrial TV, I live in France…) the weekend’s finals, starting today with what appears to be two very level-headed, likeable, and talented young women. No surprise they are No 1 and 2 in the World Rankings, they are hard working and tantrum-free, concentrating on winning the points/games/sets/matches rather than the arguments. And there will be a new name on the Women’s honours board, always a good thing.
“Last night (Sinner-Djokovic) the French commentators pointed out that it’s 60 years or something since the Womens and Mens finals were contested by the respective 1s and 2s, as is the case this year. Let’s hope they’ll spoil us with quality tennis and great matches.”
Eric Cantona is among the crowd, as is Andre Agassi. The wind is whipping up. How crucial could that be?
The opening ceremony is taking place, all a bit Busby Berkeley overheads. Lots of swirling there, too, accompanied by strings. One of the violinists is a dead ringer for Ringo Starr in his Photograph/It Don’t Come Easy years.
The roof is open and the wind is blowing in, which adds a variable. It could get a bit swirly.
Via the BBC, plucky Brit news:
Teenager Hannah Klugman was unable to become the first Briton in almost 50 years to win a French Open juniors title after losing in the girls’ singles final.
The 16-year-old, competing in her first junior Grand Slam singles final, was beaten 6-2 6-0 by Austria’s Lilli Tagger.
Klugman, ranked 13th in the world junior rankings, was aiming to emulate Britain’s Michelle Tyler, who won the French Open girls’ title in 1976.
junior champion Lilli Tagger. Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images
Tickets for today’s showpiece match range from 120 to 310 euros (£100 to £260). That seems a lot, but then again that’s less than Oasis.
We’re not far off the players walking out in Paris where it’s 19 degrees c, and relatively dry.
Here’s that 2023 meeting between the pair.
Gauff’s opponent is the same player she beat at Flushing Meadows in 2023 to win her first Slam, Sabalenka. What’s she thinking?
I have to go out there on Saturday and I have to fight and I have to bring my best tennis, and I have to work for that title. Yeah, I’m ready. I’m ready to go out and I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to do everything it’s going to take to get the win.
How was Coco Gauff feeling on the eve of the final? Memories of 2022.
My first final here I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened. Obviously here I have a lot more confidence just from playing a grand slam final before and doing well in one.
I think going into Saturday I’ll just give it my best shot and try to be as calm and relaxed as possible. Whatever happens, happens. I think just realising how minuscule it is, everybody is dealing with way bigger things in life than losing a final. And realising however many players wanted to be in this position.
“I’m sure there are hundreds of players who would kill to win or lose a final, so just knowing that makes me realise how lucky and privileged I am to be in this position. At first I thought it would be the end of the world if I lost, but you know, the sun still rose the next day. So knowing, regardless of the result, the sun will still rise.
Especially being in a city like Paris, I was walking around the next day, and no one knew that I lost, and no one cared. I was just realising that how big the moment seems in our lives is not as big in the grand scheme of things.
How did they get here?
Gauff beat home darling Boisson
Sabalenka torched the previous queen of these clay courts.
Tumaini Carayol is our man in Paris, and here’s his preview of the women’s final.
This tournament places Gauff at an interesting intersection. She has already enjoyed her first breakthrough, winning her first major title at the 2023 US Open and then backing it up by triumphing at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year. At a time when two players – Sabalenka and Swiatek – have distanced themselves from the field by consistently racking up big titles on the biggest stages, the next question for Gauff is whether she is ready and capable of taking another leap forward and consistently competing for every grand slam.
Preamble
The stage is set for the big-hitters in a year where the Roland Garros courts seem to have served such players well. Coco Gauff seeks her second Grand Slam on the scene of her 2022 defeat to Iga Świątek. Aryna Sabalenka seeks her fourth Grand Slam in her first ever final in Paris. A new name will be written on the trophy by the end of the affair. It’s the world No 1 taking on America’s No 1, and world No 2. In short, the two best players in the game at the moment.
We begin at 2pm UK time, 3pm Paris time, 7pm ET, 4pm Belarus time. Join me.
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