Coco Gauff cements status as future of American tennis with US Open triumph

If pressure makes diamonds then Coco Gauff sparkled under the bright lights on Saturday night.

On the grandest stage in American tennis – both literally and figuratively – and in front of a fervent crowd of almost 24,000 willing on her every shot, Gauff's second attempt at a maiden Grand Slam title looked to be going much the same way as the first.

Fifteen months ago, an 18-year-old Gauff was dismissively swept aside by Iga Swiatek in the French Open title match, managing to win just four games; so when she found herself 2-6 down to the fearsome Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final on Saturday, history appeared to be repeating itself.

But Gauff is not your average teenage talent; instead of buckling inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium cauldron, she soared, wresting control of the match to the point that it was Sabalenka, the WTA Tour's new top-ranked player from Monday, who wilted.

Two hours and six minutes after the first ball was served, Gauff was crowned US Open champion with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory, sealing her breakthrough triumph in style with a passing backhand winner.

"I am so happy I could make this country proud," Gauff said as chants of "USA, USA" rang out behind her.

"That little girl, she had the dream, but I don't know if she fully believed it," she added. "As a kid, you have so many dreams. As you get older sometimes it can fiddle away. I would tell her don't lose that dream."

Getting "older" is certainly relative here. Gauff is still only 19 and is very much the modern-day teenager. She even admitted to being "star struck" when she noticed Justin Bieber in the crowd for her third-round match last week.

Yet, she approaches tennis, and indeed life, with a level of maturity and composure beyond many more