Coco Gauff’s journey to stardom progressed as the 21-year-old American defeated Aryna Sabalenka in an exhilarating French Open final, securing her second Grand Slam victory.

One of the great women’s finals of the decade ended 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, Gauff collapsing to the clay in her moment of victory.

In a showdown between the top two players globally, Gauff demonstrated qualities reminiscent of a seasoned veteran within a young athlete’s physique; an old spirit encased in the body of a consummate competitor. As the No. 2 seed, she bounced back after Sabalenka’s initial dominance, adjusting deftly to the blustery conditions before re-adjusting as the winds subsided.

She navigated the match with excellence, and while her strategies adapted, her relentless energy remained unchanged. Her swift footwork and strong legs were ever-present, chasing down every drive, drop shot, and lob, covering every inch of the clay court until Sabalenka had nowhere to turn. Sabalenka, at 27, committed 70 unforced errors, more than twice that of Gauff.

She has now lost two Grand Slam finals in a row, after going down to Madison Keys in Australia. The 27-year-old Belarusian remains the best player in the world and goes into Wimbledon as a strong favourite – but this one will sting.

Gauff becomes the first American to win this title since Serena Williams in 2015, and the youngest since, you guessed it, Serena Williams in 2002.

It was a breezy day in Paris, and the architecture of Philippe Chatrier makes the wind swirl around once it reaches court level.

In these conditions, the tennis was not the cleanest – how could it have been? – and these two racked up 100 unforced errors between them. But it was terrific fun, an edgy tactical battle between two women who were able to play magnificently well despite the wind.

It was almost a throwback to the days of Evert-Navratilova finals, the way these two massaged the ball around the court, trading drop shots and volleys back and forth.

Coming in, they were locked at 5-5 in the head to head, and 1-1 in majors. Gauff won their only previous Slam final, the 2023 US Open.

It is a fascinating match-up: the most athletic, best defensive player in the world against the most powerful, the best attacker.

Sabalenka steamed into the lead, breaking Gauff twice. At 4-1 and 40-0 down, the American was facing another blowout final after her 6-1, 6-3 defeat to Iga Swiatek here in 2022.

But an uplift in the wind upset Sabalenka’s serving rhythm and allowed Gauff to get back into the match. Gauff had obviously come in looking to be aggressive, but she rather rowed back on that, focusing on elongating the points and using her legs, trying to make it more of a running battle than a hitting contest.

And so just as in her semi-final win over Swiatek, a 4-1, double-break lead for Sabalenka became 4-4.

Both women were struggling on serve, and five breaks in a row brought us to a tiebreak.

An early Gauff lead was erased and after an hour and 15 minutes, at 6-6, 5-5, we were in sudden death territory. Sabalenka pounced with two points in a row, both won by charging the net – her bravery was rewarded.

A blow to Gauff, but after recovering from 4-1 down there was no reason to lose heart. The first set alone had lasted longer than her previous visit to this stage, a 6-1, 6-3 hammering by Swiatek in 2022.

Gauff got straight back to business and made it six breaks of serve in a row, then finally consolidated for a 2-0 lead. The wind settled in the second set, which ought to have helped Sabalenka, but it was Gauff who took the ascendancy. With the tennis acumen which belies her years, she sensed the cleaner conditions gave her more opportunity to attack. She started taking on her backhand down the line more often, and throwing in drop shots of her own.

To a deciding set then, an appropriate conclusion in a meeting of the No1 and No2 seeds.

Gauff was playing lockdown tennis now, making zero unforced errors in the first three games, emerging with a break and a 2-1 lead. The Paris skies were getting darker, a few drops of rain falling – would we get another switch of conditions with the closing of the roof?

The rainfall stayed away, although it was so gloomy the lights were turned on. Sabalenka saved two break points to keep in touch at 2-3 and then broke thanks in part to a Gauff double fault.

Off the ground, Gauff was playing her best tennis of the match, but her dodgy second serve leaked four double faults and that was enough to keep Sabalenka interested.

With Gauff serving for the title at 5-4, Sabalenka saved a championship point with a terrific return, then brought up break point. She had another look at a second serve but this time dragged the forehand wide.

On her second match point Gauff forced a final unforced error out of Sabalenka and the match was hers. In the deciding set, double faults aside, she made two unforced errors – that is how you win the French Open.

This Roland Garros fortnight has been dominated by discourse over the platforming of women’s tennis. But however hidden they have been in the schedule’s sleepy slots, however empty the stands, the brilliance of the players has illuminated this women’s event. From the staggering run of French wildcard Lois Boisson to Sabalenka’s tearing down of Swiatek’s kingdom of clay, it has been a magnificent tournament. Gauff and Sabalenka ensured it had a magnificent conclusion.