As a teary Coco Gauff congratulated her opponents connected their women's doubles rubric astatine the US Open, she demonstrated the property spread that had been connected the court.
Australian Sam Stosur, she revealed, was the archetypal pro tennis subordinate to springiness her an autograph.
"Little spot of a scary thought," the 37-year-old Stosur said.
Stosur wouldn't fto the 17-year-old Gauff get her archetypal Grand Slam title.
Stosur and Zhang Shuai bushed Gauff and Caty McNally 6-3 3-6 6-3 astatine Flushing Meadows today, winning their 2nd large doubles rubric unneurotic and denying the teenagers their first.
"For us, this was our 2nd Grand Slam last together. I've been successful a fewer more," Stosur said. "It's benignant of like, 'All right, I've done this a fewer much times than you, truthful I've got to effort to usage everything I've got.'"
Gauff was conscionable a twelvemonth aged erstwhile Stosur won her archetypal US Open title, the women's doubles title with Lisa Raymond successful 2005. The Australian won her biggest singles rubric successful Flushing Meadows successful 2011, knocking disconnected Serena Williams successful the final.
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Gauff and McNally, 19, were trying to articulation Emma Raducanu arsenic women's champions this week. The 18-year-old from Britain bushed 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez connected Saturday for the singles title.
The No.11-seeded Americans fell conscionable abbreviated of adding this US Open doubles rubric to the juniors 1 they won unneurotic successful 2018.
"I cognize that we'll beryllium Grand Slam champions eventually," Gauff said.
It was the 11th consecutive triumph for Stosur and Zhang, who besides won successful Cincinnati earlier the US Open. They had to abstracted for a clip portion Zhang paired with Chinese players earlier the Olympics but spot nary crushed to halt now.
"We volition for definite play unneurotic more, yeah," said Zhang, 32.
The archetypal acceptable swung abruptly erstwhile McNally was serving and a constituent distant from a 4-all tie. Zhang perfectly placed a lob implicit Gauff's caput into the shaded backmost borderline of the tribunal during a tally of 5 consecutive points to bargain the game, and they held successful the adjacent 1 to instrumentality the set.
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Gauff and McNally rallied to necktie the lucifer and it was adjacent heavy into the 3rd acceptable earlier Stosur and Zhang broke McNally again for a 5-3 pb earlier Stosur served retired the match. She agreed that her opponents volition person different chance.
"They conscionable play fearless. Credit to them," Stosur said. "I deliberation they're a truly large team. Again, nary uncertainty they're going to beryllium backmost successful situations similar this, challenging for titles.
"Not conscionable yet," she added with a smile. "Not today."
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