Coco Gauff wins the US Open after coming from a set down to secure the title

The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.

Williams’ final departure from tennis at the same championships last year left a huge void in tennis in the United States.

So it was only natural that Gauff, the heir to the 23-time Grand Slam winner, followed in her footsteps twelve months later.

Sabalenka will become the new world number one on Monday after a remarkably consistent year in which she won the Australian Open and reached the semi-finals in Paris and Wimbledon.

But that will be little consolation for the 25-year-old from Belarus after she put herself in position to win her second Grand Slam title, only to fall short as Gauff took her first and a roaring crowd with her a memorable 2-6 6 success. 3 6:2 win.

Gauff said: “It means so much to me, I feel like I’m in a bit of shock. My (final) defeat at the French Open broke my heart, and all the trials and tribulations make this moment all the more beautiful for me.

“I just knew that if I didn’t give it my all, I had no chance of winning. Aryna is an incredible player and deserves to be number one.

“Today I saw my father cry for the first time. He thinks he’s so tough, but… when I was young he took me to this tournament to watch Serena and Venus (Williams) compete, so to be on that stage is incredible.

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me. I’m here now with this trophy. Those who thought they were pouring water on my fire, they poured gas on it and now I burn so brightly.”

The course of the game was set early on: Sabalenka hit the ball incredibly hard and Gauff chased after it.

Sabalenka’s unforced error count kept Gauff on her toes in the early stages, but once she calmed down her firepower, she was able to win the opening set.

Gauff saved two break points after double-faulting twice at the start of the second round.

But it was a double fault from Sabalenka’s racket shortly after Gauff brought the crowd inside Arthur Ashe to its feet with a stunning backhand winner all the way down the court that gave the sixth seed a way back into the game.

Gauff saved a break point to take a 4-1 lead before Sabalenka saved the shot of the game.

She chased a lob to the back of the court and, with her back to Gauff, sent the ball high over her opponent and straight into the corner.

But it was Gauff who was in control and forced more mistakes out of the second-place team than she was able to confidently level the game.

Gauff’s incessant scramble left Sabalenka reeling and she broke twice at the start of the third round.

Sabalenka took a medical timeout when she was 1:4 down and immediately got a break, but Gauff hit right back and almost took the closed roof off Ashe.

She later held serve confidently and was the winner, the magnitude of which Gauff realized almost immediately as she cried tears of joy before rushing into the stands to celebrate her stunning performance with her ecstatic family.

A tearful Sabalenka said: “I’m very proud that I was able to manage my emotions most of the time this year and focus on myself and not on my ranking.”

“I felt the love these few weeks. Coco played incredibly and deserved the title.”