Breaking News: Coco Gauff picks out the five women she believes are the favorites to win the French Open title this year….see more

Coco Gauff showered Aryna Sabalenka with praise after falling in the Madrid Open final 3-6, 6-7. The world No. 4 had her chances to take the second set and extend her possibilities, but ultimately it was the Belarusian who played better in the important moments to secure her third trophy in Madrid.

In any case, Gauff can draw positive conclusions from this week. She defeated opponents like Belinda Bencic, Mirra Andreeva (7th seed), and Iga Swiatek (2nd seed) in straight sets, the latter by a significant 6-1, 6-1, Swiatek’s worst defeat on clay since 2019.

The 21-year-old American thanked Jesus Christ at the awards ceremony, showing her Christian faith. “I’d like to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ to be here and the opportunity to play in the final,” she said, before congratulating her rival’s great performance.

“I’d like to congratulate Aryna on an incredible tournament. You’re always tough to face. Congrats to your team. The last.. well you’re always doing well.. but the last 4 straight finals I think. Congrats on all the success you’ve been having.”

“I like to thank my team, I know we’ve all been working incredibly hard but definitely this is a step in the right direction, so we can go for more and the bigger trophy,” she added. “Hopefully I can be back in this position next year and have a chance to fight for the bigger trophy.”

Gauff reached her first Madrid final and leaves this week with a good amount of points that allow her to climb to world No. 3, regaining the position as American No. 1. Furthermore, she is on the verge of reaching world No. 2, for which it will be enough for Swiatek not to defend her title at the Rome Open, or at least reach the semifinals if the Pole were to win the trophy.