PARIS — Drawing on the painful memory of her defeat three years ago in the French Open final gave Coco Gauff just the motivation she needed to win the clay-court major for the first time. The 21-year-old American defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title, two years after winning the U.S. Open.

In an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka claimed Gauff would have lost to Iga Swiatek and said the French Open winner had been ‘framing’ balls during the final

Coco Gauff came to Paris chasing a lifelong dream, and now the 21-year-old American has carved her place in history. A teary-eyed Gauff held off world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 at the French Open Final in one of her finest career performances to capture her second Grand Slam in memorable fashion.