Carlos Alcaraz commends Coco Gauff for winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open 2023
Carlos Alcaraz congratulated Coco Gauff after the American won her maiden Grand Slam event by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final on Saturday, September 9.
Gauff became the first American teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since tennis icon Serena Williams, who did it in 1999 at the New York Major.
Having lost the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek, Gauff rose to the occasion in her second Major final, beating Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.
Following her win, Coco Gauff turned to social media to post pictures of herself with the trophy. She also unveiled a special t-shirt that celebrated her status as US Open champion.
"concrete jungle where dreams are made of….," the American captioned her Instagram post, a lyric from the 2009 song 'Empire State of Mind' by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
Alcaraz, last year's US Open winner, reacted to Gauff's Instagram post and commended her for securing her maiden Grand Slam title.
"Amazing," the Spaniard commented on her post.
The Spaniard also won the US Open at the age of 19 last year, beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the final. Alcaraz also became the youngest to attain the top spot in the ATP singles rankings in the Open Era. However, his title defense ended in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open with a loss to Daniil Medvedev.
Looking back at Coco Gauff's US Open triumph
Coco Gauff was in excellent form ahead of the US Open. The American won her maiden WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, beating the likes of World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova. She dropped just one set throughout the tournament.
The 19-year-old kicked off her US Open campaign with a win over German veteran Laura Siegemund. The American rallied from a set down to eventually knock out the German. She dispatched Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the second round in straight sets.
Gauff found herself a set-down in the third round against 32nd seed Elise Mertens, but maintained her composure and even bageled the Belgian in the deciding set to win the tie.
In the next two rounds, the teenager faced two former Grand Slam winners, Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Wozniacki. Gauff thwarted a comeback attempt from Wozniacki, beating the Dane in three sets. Ostapenko, however, was no match for the American as she succumbed to a 6-0, 6-2 loss.
Coco Gauff beat Muchova in the semifinals and rallied from a set down to beat the second seed Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final.