- Gauff and Sabalenka meet for title at Flushing Meadows
- Send Bryan a tweet at @BryanAGraham or email him
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Tumaini Carayol’s look at Coco Gauff on the brink.
On Saturday, the teenager from Georgia will bring her new-found perspective to her biggest match on home soil. It will be brutally difficult. Not only is Aryna Sabalenka the toughest player in the world right now, the new No 1 when next week’s rankings are published, but it feels as if she may have exorcised her biggest demons during this tournament.
The race for the No 1 ranking seemed to weigh heavily on the Belarusian as she failed to take multiple opportunities to catch Iga Swiatek earlier this year. She particularly struggled to compose herself in major semi-finals. She was 1-5 in her career and had lost so many comprehensive leads until Thursday night’s incredible comeback win from 0-6, 3-5, 0-15 down against Madison Keys. For Gauff, who will be the underdog, the only thing there is to do is enjoy the challenge ahead.
