The ladies final is done and a new champion has been crowned once again at the US Open. The US Open for some reason is one of those slams in the ladies draw where anyone can win. In the last few years we have seen Sloan Stephens, Andreescu, Raducanu etc win their first grand slam here at the US Open and in 2023 it is no different as Coco Gauff managed to win her very first grand slam after defeating 2nd seed and on Monday the new world number 1, Sabalenka in 3 tough sets.

The match started with a clear strategy from Sabalenka to target the Gauff forward and this worked in the opening set as Gauff struggled with the Sabalenka power and struggled to dominate any points. This led to a Sabalenka 1st set 6 games to 2. The 2nd set went very similar to the first set in a way because it was still all Sabalenka however the big difference in the 2nd set was the unforced errors off the racquet of the number 2 seed went exponentially higher and this cost her the set ultimately as Gauff hung around and took her chances and the set 6 games to 3. The 3rd set was Gauff’s best set of tennis. With Sabalenka struggling to get her rhythm back, Gauff was allowed to dictate more points and the points she didn’t dictate she defended like a trojan forcing the Sabalenka error. As the 3rd set headed to a close, I wondered if she would be able to hold her nerve but the American did and in front of her home crowd. Congratulations to Gauff!!

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and wow there is a lot more red on the leaderboard than yesterday. 5 teams were eliminated on day 13 and one of those teams is our leader ‘PhenomeNOnadal’. ‘There is an I in Thiem’, ‘Wizard’, ‘Another Try’ and ‘Snap Happy’ were the other 4 teams eliminated.

As mentioned above ‘PhenomeNOnadal’ remains in the lead and has a lead of 14 points as we head into the final day. However they have no players remaining so the chasing pack will be licking their lips. 2nd place is now ‘Fine Whines’ who have jumped up from 6th to 2nd after they were one of the teams who picked our eventual winner, Gauff. ‘2nd’ holds onto 3rd spot with ‘Fudgies’ jumping back into the top 5 and into 4th spot after he was another team who picked Gauff. ‘Stentastics’ and ‘Hawks Hackers’ remain locked up but are now sitting in 5th. ‘Calf Cramps’, ‘Down the Line’, ‘Lorna’s Lucky 13’, ‘Hard Hitters’, ‘Pat’s Pick’, ‘Pot Luck’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’ all picked Gauff as well.

It all comes down to the men’s final. What will the top 5 look like after tonight. We will have to wait and find out. Enjoy the final!

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.