India, June 7 -- After just 19 minutes into the French Open women's final at the Philippe-Chatrier court, with the score at 1-4, Coco Gauff was looking like she would be blown off the court by the power of Aryna Sabalenka. For the first time in seven years, the best two women's players in the world were meeting in a Grand Slam final but it was looking like a mismatch.

But it's not about how you start, it's how you finish.

The slow start gave way to an incredible resilience, grit and tennis smarts in a match that wasn't high on quality but brutal from the physical and emotional point of view. It ended with the 21-year-old American winning a topsy-turvy roller coaster battle 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in 2 hours and 38 minutes.

The signs were all ...