NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff set aside a so-so start and surged to her first Grand Slam title at age 19, coming back to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the U.S. Open final on Saturday to the delight of a raucous crowd that was loud from start to finish.

Gauff,who is from Florida, is the first American teenager to win thecountry’s major tennis tournament since Serena Williams in 1999. If lastyear’s U.S. Open was all about saying goodbye to Williams as shecompeted for the final time, this year’s two weeks in New York turnedinto a “Welcome to the big time!” for Gauff.

This is the sort oftriumph that had — fairly or not — been expected of Gauff ever since sheburst onto the scene at 15 by becoming the youngest qualifier inWimbledon history and making it to the fourth round in her Grand Slamdebut in 2019.

She reached her initial major final at last year’sFrench Open, finishing as the runner-up, and now has earned the biggesttrophy of her still-nascent career. Gauff earned a 12th consecutivevictory and 18th in her past 19 matches dating to a first-round exit atthe All England Club in July.

The No. 6-seeded Gauff did itSaturday by withstanding the power displayed by Sabalenka on nearlyevery swing of her racket, eventually getting accustomed to it andmanaging to get back shot after shot. Gauff broke to begin the third seton just one such point, tracking down every ball hit her way untileventually smacking a putaway volley that she punctuated with a fistpump and a scream of “Come on!”

Soon it was 4-0 in that set forGauff. At 4-1, Sabalenka took a medical timeout while her left leg wasmassaged. Gauff stayed sharp during the break — it lasted a handful ofminutes, not the 50 during a climate protest in the semifinals — by practicing some serves.

Whenthey resumed, Sabalenka broke to get within 4-2. But Gauff broke rightback, and soon was serving out the victory, then dropping onto her backon the court. She soon climbed into the stands to find her parents andothers for hugs.

“You did it!” Gauff’s mom told her, both in tears.