A little bit of self-persuasion went a very long way for Coco Gauff, whose victory at the French Open gave the 21-year-old American a trophy she has long

Paris in the spring, the red clay of Roland-Garros, and the chance to become a French Open champion.It was 2022 and she was still a teenager who’d never won a major. But before she knew it, the whole thing was over.

Second seed Coco Gauff became the first American woman to win a French Open title since 2015, defeating top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday in Paris.