PARIS — Drawing on the painful memory of her defeat three years ago in the French Open final gave Coco Gauff just the motivation she needed to win the clay-court major for the first time. The 21-year-old American defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title, two years after winning the U.S. Open.

It was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.

Returns detonated off Coco Gauff's racket and sprayed the red brick dust of Roland-Garros, unraveling Aryna Sabalenka en route to the American's second career Grand Slam crown Saturday in the French Open final.