{"id":54268,"date":"2025-06-08T02:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T02:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=54268"},"modified":"2025-06-08T02:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T02:59:25","slug":"rafael-nadal-congratulates-coco-gauff-from-king-of-clay-to-queen-of-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=54268","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal congratulates Coco Gauff &#8211; From king of clay to queen of Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"web_share\">\n<div class=\"butt_container\">\n<div id=\"share_btn1_156452\" class=\"sharex\">SHARE<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"header_img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/imgb\/163083\/rafael-nadal-congratulates-coco-gauff-from-king-of-clay-to-queen-of-paris.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/imgb\/163083\/rafael-nadal-congratulates-coco-gauff-from-king-of-clay-to-queen-of-paris.webp\" alt=\"Rafael Nadal congratulates Coco Gauff - From king of clay to queen of Paris\" \/><figcaption><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"text_box\">\n<p>Coco Gauff is the Roland Garros champion! The 21-year-old American bested world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka\u00a06-7, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier for her second Major crown, the first in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Rafael Nadal, the undisputed King of Clay and 14-time Roland Garros winner, took a moment to salute a new member of the Paris champions&#8217; club.<\/p>\n<p>Nadal offered his heartfelt congratulations to both finalists, acknowledging their incredible battle in the French capital that went down to the wire.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1931426073222209666&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennisworldusa.org%2Ftennis%2Fnews%2FRafael_Nadal%2F156452%2Frafael-nadal-congratulates-coco-gauff-from-king-of-clay-to-queen-of-paris%2F&amp;sessionId=e424a71872bb171556140575bf331d57d82e1933&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1931426073222209666\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The 21-year-old showcased nerves and relentless athleticism en route to her maiden title in Paris, where Nadal has crafted his\u00a0legacy. The Spaniard&#8217;s gesture added even more meaning to the American&#8217;s triumph.<\/p>\n<p>It symbolizes a generational bridge between two greats of the sport. Coco dropped the opener against Aryna but kept her composure. The younger player dominated the\u00a0second set and built the advantage in the decider.<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka pulled the break back before Gauff grabbed three of the final four games to lift a trophy three years after her first Roland Garros final. The Belarusian served at 48% and sprayed 70 unforced errors!<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/small\/image163084.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/big\/image163084.webp 848w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/mega\/image163084.webp 1920w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"big\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/image163084.jpg\" alt=\"Coco Gauff, Roland Garros 2025\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Coco Gauff, Roland Garros 2025<\/span><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It was a low-quality match, with 100 unforced errors and gigantic 34 break points! Coco dropped serve six times and provided nine return games from 21 opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>The American had the upper hand behind the first serve and took charge in the pivotal moments after allowing her rival to erase the deficit. They battled for nearly 80 minutes in the opener!<\/p>\n<p>Aryna made a flying start and clinched two breaks for a 4-1 advantage. Coco climbed back and locked the result at 4-4. We saw four consecutive breaks after that, with Sabalenka missing two set points to keep her rival in contention.<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/small\/image163085.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/big\/image163085.webp 848w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/mega\/image163085.webp 1920w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"big\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/image163085.jpg\" alt=\"Aryna Sabalenka, Roland Garros 2025\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Aryna Sabalenka, Roland Garros 2025<\/span><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>World no. 1 trailed 4-1 in the tie break before making the ultimate push, stealing it 7-5 and moving closer to the trophy. Gauff responded with a strong performance in the second set.<\/p>\n<p>She broke Sabalenka three times and closed the set 6-2 for a boost. Coco provided an early break in the decider and created two more chances at 3-1. Aryna denied them and pulled the break back in the next one for 3-3.<\/p>\n<p>The American broke at love in game seven and held in the next one for 5-3. Gauff served for the title at 5-4 and missed a match point before facing a break point.<\/p>\n<p>The 21-year-old saved it with a service winner and seized the second match point to start a massive celebration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SHARE \u00a9 Stream screenshot Coco Gauff is the Roland Garros champion! The 21-year-old American bested world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka\u00a06-7, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 40&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rafael Nadal congratulates Coco Gauff - From king of clay to queen of Paris - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=54268\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal congratulates Coco Gauff - From king of clay to queen of Paris - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SHARE \u00a9 Stream screenshot Coco Gauff is the Roland Garros champion! 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