“At the end of the match, when I fell on the floor, I didn’t think I was going to do that,” Gauff said. “I kind of made a promise to myself that I will only save that for Grand Slams. But honestly, to the way the match went, I was like, ‘I’m just tired. I just want to lay on the ground.’”
As for Zheng, her failed service game at 5-4 in the third seemed to linger in her mind.
“This match is very endurance, instead of, you know, explosive tennis,” Zheng said. “Yes, a lot of physical, but I would say sometimes, maybe in this match, I wasn’t that patient.”
This was Gauff’s second-biggest career title, after the 2023 US Open. Like that one, it came in a rush, immediately after hiring a new coach—Gilbert last year, Matt Daly this year. Her level seemed to be at rock bottom in August; by November, she was back at her sometimes error-prone, but always competitive best.
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Gauff won Riyadh while also trying out changes to her serve and forehand. But she also won this tournament by going back to her strengths and living and dying inside her comfort zone. She ran, she defended, she scrapped, she hit her forehands high and heavy, and drove through her backhands with pace. She didn’t try to be aggressive at all costs. She was frustrated at times with the mistakes she couldn’t fix, but she stuck with her brand of tennis and it worked.
“I know I was like a couple points away from losing,” Gauff said after her miracle marathon win. “But, you know, I just tried to stay in the moment, honestly, and I’m really proud of myself.”
