US Open final 2023 LIVE: Coco Gauff beats Aryna Sabalenka in sensational comeback performance

Route to the final:

Coco Gauff

1R vs L. Siegemund 3-6 6-2 6-4

2R vs. M. Andreeva 6-3 6-2

3R vs. E. Mertens 3-6 6-3 6-0

RO16 vs C. Wozniacki 6-3 3-6 6-1

QF vs J. Ostapenko 6-0 6-2

SF vs K. Muchova 6-4 7-5

As for Aryna Sabalenka, her comeback victory after a dreadful start in the semi-finals has her confident, though she knows she’s up against it in more ways than one in the final.

“I’m really happy that after that reaction I was able to stay focused and I was able to stay focused because... it could be the other way around,” she said.

“Being in the final at the US Open for the first time, it really means a lot to me.

“[Gauff’s] an unbelievable top player. She’s playing really incredible tennis here.

“Yeah, the crowd will be really supporting her a lot. It’s something I’m expecting. This is nothing crazy.

“I’ll just go there and just do everything I can. I’ll be there. I’ll be fighting for every point. I’ll do my best.”

Coco Gauff feels that she’s now ready to become a grand slam champion, after a near miss and previous frustrations.

“I really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it,” she said.

“I grew up watching this tournament so much, so it means a lot to be in the final.

“A lot to celebrate, but you know the job is not done so hopefully [the fans] can back me on Saturday.

“After Wimbledon, I wasn’t expecting to do well, honestly. Regardless of what happens [in the final], I’m really proud of how I have been handling the last few weeks.”

Naomi Osaka is intending to play “way more tournaments” on her return to tennis following the birth of her daughter.

The four-time grand slam champion, who has not played a competitive match since last September, announced her pregnancy in January and gave birth to baby Shai in July.

Osaka, who has two US Open and two Australian Open titles to her name, had played an increasingly sparse schedule before her maternity leave, stepping away from the court several times to prioritise her mental health.

But time away has reinvigorated her love for the sport and, speaking to ESPN, Osaka said of her plans for next season: “It’s definitely way more tournaments than I used to play. So I think some people will be happy with that.”

Britain’s Joe Salisbury made US Open history alongside American partner Rajeev Ram with victory in the men’s doubles final.

Salisbury, 31, and 39-year-old Ram became the first team to win the Flushing Meadows title three years in a row in the Open era by beating India’s Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia 2-6 6-3 6-4.

It was a fourth grand slam crown for the duo and denied Bopanna a first major title at the age of 43.

Daniil Medvedev tore up the US Open script by knocking out defending champion and world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final.

The 27-year-old Russian, the Flushing Meadows champion in 2021, will face Novak Djokovic – the man he beat to win his first and only grand slam so far – in Sunday’s final after a shock 7-6 (3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory.

The smart money this fortnight had been on another Djokovic-Alcaraz final, a repeat of the Wimbledon epic which the Spaniard won and another chapter in a burgeoning rivalry.

But Medvedev, the world number three, had other ideas and, coming from behind a near flawless serve, looked like he was back to being the player who swept to glory two years ago.

Experience put paid to youthful exuberance as Novak Djokovic ended Ben Shelton’s American dream at the US Open.

Djokovic, 36, halted big-serving 20-year-old Shelton’s breakthrough run in the semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 7-6 (4) victory.

It was a defeat which will prolong America’s wait for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick in 2003 for at least another year.

The gulf in big-occasion nous was apparent from the start, with Djokovic playing in his 100th US Open match and Shelton his seventh.

Shelton was the youngest American man to reach the semi-finals since Michael Chang in 1992, Djokovic the oldest since Jimmy Connors a year earlier.

When Coco Gauff lost to Sofia Kenin in the first round at Wimbledon just over two months ago, the 19-year-old admitted it was time to go back to the drawing board.

Whatever she did, it worked. The American idol has won 17 of her last 18 matches since that surprise day-one defeat, picking up titles in Washington and Cincinnati, and on Saturday she will face Aryna Sabalenka in her first US Open final.

“Right now, I’m very frustrated and disappointed,” Gauff said in SW19. “It makes me want to work even harder.

“I feel like I’ve been working hard but clearly it’s not enough. I have to go back to the drawing board and see where I need to improve.”

Since then Gauff has linked up with American coach Brad Gilbert, tidied up her susceptible forehand and zipped through the field at Flushing Meadows.

Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams to reach a US Open final and the timing of her home breakthrough could not have been scripted better.

Williams’ diamond-encrusted and star-studded departure from tennis at Flushing Meadows last year showcased the impact she has had on the sport over 25 years.

But it also left a big hole, particular for tennis in the US, where a dearth of male success over the same period has seen its profile wane.

Now 12 months later, here is Gauff, taking over the baton in seamless fashion and poised to become one of the world’s biggest sporting stars.

American Coco Gauff said she held no animosity toward the protesters who interrupted her U.S. Open semi-final match against Karolina Muchova on Thursday, though she did think their timing could have been a lot better.

The sixth seed beat Czech Muchova 6-4 7-5 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the championship match at Flushing Meadows for the first time and continue her terrific season.

After winning the first set and taking the opening game of the second, the match was halted when four protesters began shouting from the stands.

Three were escorted out of the venue without further incident but a fourth “affixed their bare feet to the floor” of the stadium, the USTA said.

“It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it,” Gauff said. “Obviously I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning up 6-4 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going.

“But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”