The Miami Open women’s singles final barely started, but tensions quickly arose. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was pursuing the Sunshine Double — capturing both Indian Wells and Miami consecutively. However, hometown hero Coco Gauff stood in her path. The Florida native has reached her first Miami Open final and enjoyed substantial backing from the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium for the title clash.
The spectators weren’t her only supporters. Gauff‘s friends and family were present to rally behind her. Sabalenka seemed to grow “angry” with one of Gauff’s siblings, who offered vocal support during the opening five games.
“Very interesting first five games, and very interesting to hear the box of Coco Gauff speaking to her after every point,” Bartoli informed viewers. “Aryna Sabalenka still up a break. It’s very tight in this match, and we had some of an angry look from Aryna Sabalenka towards Coco Gauff because she thought that one of Coco’s brothers was a bit too loud, so it’s getting a bit spicy in here!”
Gauff may have weathered one challenging service game, but she ultimately fell to the persistent Belarusian, who broke her serve once more to close out the set. The top seed directed any frustration into her play and rapidly sealed the set 6-2 in under 40 minutes.
It proved a tough set for the Florida native, who recorded three double faults, including during the opening game when her serve was broken. Despite this, Gauff’s team maintained steady support from her corner.
“It’s not easy because we are very close to her player’s box and there is not really any tactical advice from her player’s box, it’s just really encouragement, but she feels a bit lost, to be honest with you, on the court,” Bartoli observed after the American dropped the first set.
“She just said before the return on the backhands that she missed, that she was not even aiming for the return of serve, so I think she’s feeling the pace from Aryna Sabalenka, that disturbs her a lot.”
However, Gauff elevated her performance in the second set. The 22-year-old let out a roar as she held serve to get back on track, halting Sabalenka’s streak of three consecutive games. She then began pressuring the world No. 1’s serve, creating her first break opportunity of the contest.
The No. 4 seed was unable to capitalize on it, though. She connected with the return on a second serve but sent the ball into the net mid-rally, allowing Sabalenka to hold.