On Saturday, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, backed by more than 20,000-plus ardent fans, lit up the stage for the women's US Open final. After 2 hours and 6 minutes, the 19-year-old Gauff became the youngest American US Open champion since Serena Williams. 

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Here's how the match played out:

3 p.m. ET

Hello from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center! We're an hour away from the singles final getting underway, but we've already crowned one of three champions on US Open Championship Weekend.

Earlier, Anna Dalinina and Haari Heliovaara rolled past top seeds Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek 6-3, 6-4 to win the mixed doubles title. It's the first Grand Slam title for Kazakhstan's Dalinina, who is ranked No.29 in doubles on the Hologic WTA Tour. Quite the result considering she had never met or spoken to Heliovaara until the two met at the registration desk and signed up for the event.

No worries for Jess, though. On Monday, she'll rise to doubles No.1 along with Coco. It will be Pegula's first stint at No.1 and Gauff's second. 

3:15 p.m ET 

Our friends at Stats Perform have crunched the numbers and dropped their win predictor for tonight's final. Not surprisingly, they've given the World No.2 the edge, despite Gauff holding a slight lead in their head-to-head. She's won three of their five matches previous matches.

But in their only meeting of the season so far, Sabalenka cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 win at Indian Wells:

3:40 p.m. ET

It's been a high-energy, electric tournament this year. The US Open digital team captured it all perfectly in this hype video:

3:59 p.m. ET

And if that's not enough to get you pumped, here's the video that will be dusted off every time Coco Gauff does something big in New York. Is it the new version of Ashleigh Barty with the trophy? You decide. 

4 p.m. ET

It's time for the pre-match pomp and circumstance. Grammy Award-winning composer, singer and visual artist Cécile McLorin Salvant, accompanied by pianist Sullivan Fortner, is performing "America the Beautiful."

4:10 p.m. ET

In the tunnel with Pam Shriver, here's what Sabalenka and Gauff had to say. 

Sabalenka on her last two seasons: "I'm really proud of the hard work I've done. The last two years were really crazy, it was a lot of up and downs. But I'm really proud that I was able to find myself and play my best tennis."

Gauff on what's different since Wimbledon:  "My mentality. I've been fighting for every point no matter what the count in the score. I'm going to fight for every point today."

Big roars as both women walk out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium. To get to their chairs they walk past the famous plaque, "Pressure is a Privilege" and the woman herself, Billie Jean King. She'll be doing the coin toss tonight. 

Gauff calls heads and ... heads it is. She'll serve first. 

Coco Gauff Aryna Sabalenka US Open 2023

Elsa/Getty Images

4:23 p.m. ET

And we are underway, and it's a break to Sabalenka to start. Sabalenka is taking that ball to Gauff's forehand wing and it's giving up shorter and shorter balls. Gauff did well to save one break point with her speed, but Sablalenka powers through her to convert a second break point. 

Sabalenka leads 1-0.

4:28 p.m. ET

After a quick hold from Sabalenka to consolidate her break, Gauff gets on the board. 

The American crowd is trying to will Gauff through these early stages of the match. They're roaring with every point she wins. The forehand is still dropping far too short. 

Sabalenka leads 2-1.

4:39 p.m. ET

After an exchange of breaks, Sablaenka retains her break lead. But it was an adventure.

Gauff gets her first break of the match with the help of two double faults from Sabalenka. But serving at 2-2, 30-30, Gauff misfires a forehand and Sablaenka eventually converts on her third break point of the game. 

Brad Gilbert telling Gauff that she needs to swing more aggressively and get the ball deeper in the court. 

Sabalenka leads 3-2.

4:51 p.m. ET

As predicted, it's Sabalenka's power vs. Gauff's speed so far, and right now, power is winning. But not by much. 

In a seven-minute game, Gauff diffuses Sabalenka to earn two break points, but she responds with two clean strikes to wipe them away and hold. 

She celebrates with a defiant roar. And then she breaks again. She hasn't been perfect tonight. But she's been clutch when she's needed to be so far.

Sabalenka leads 5-2.

4:56 p.m. ET: Sabalenka wins first set 6-2

That's the first set in the bag for the Australian Open champion and soon-to-be World No.1. Sabalenka holds off Gauff and quiets the crowd to serve it out for a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes. 

Gauff hit three winners and 10 unforced errors in that opener, but seven of those errors were on the forehand side. Gauff did well to limit Sabalenka to just five winners off the ground -- she also had two aces. But Sabalenka overcomes 14 unforced errors to keep Gauff at bay. 

5:10 p.m. ET

Gauff is fighting to hold on, and she does. She fends off a break point in her opening service game but remains on serve in the early stages. The American is still trying to find ways to impose herself on this match. 

The celebrity turnout has been strong for this packed-house final. Spotted so far: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Mindy Kaling, Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Brosnahan, Cara Delevigne, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Monica Seles, Tracy Austin, Shonda Rhimes, Laura Dern, Mariska Hargitay, Al Roker, Diane Keaton, Jake Paul and Alec Baldwin. 

Gauff leads 2-1.

5:17 p.m. ET

What a shot from Gauff. Pure speed and court coverage from the youngster to track down a drop shot and slam a crosscourt backhand pass. That point keeps her in the game and gets the crowd on its feet. Sure enough, Sabalenka plays two rattled points, including a double fault on break point, to give Gauff a break. 

The teenager has the momentum now. She saves a break point to hold and consolidate her lead. Sabalenka leaking unforced errors on the forehand now. 

Gauff leads 4-1.

5:30 p.m. ET

Now it's Sabalenka's turn to get the crowd on their feet. In the best point of the match, Gauff plays incredible defense again and seems to have landed a perfect lob over Sabalenka. But she chases it down and, as Gauff sneaks into the net to cover, lofts an even better reply for a winner. 

That point helps Sabalenka stop Gauff's surge, as she eventually goes on to hold to close the gap to 4-2. But Gauff responds with another defiant hold. 

Phew. We're going to need to catch a breath after that pair of games. So do Amanda Seyfried and Rachel Brosnahan:

Gauff leads 5-2.

5:42 p.m. ET: Gauff takes second set 6-3

What a turnaround. The cumulative defensive pressure from Gauff is paying off now, as Sabalenka strikes her 30th unforced error lose the 44-minute set.

Gauff went on lockdown in that second set, making just three unforced errors off the ground, compared to nine in the first set. 

Into a decider we go!

This is Gauff's fourth three-set match of the tournament, having gone the distance against Laura Siegemund, Elise Mertens and Caroline Wozniacki. She is 8-5 in three-set matches this season.

This is Sabalenka's second of the tournament. She came from within three points of losing her semifinal to Madison Keys to win 0-6, 7-6, 7-6. She is 9-5 in three-set matches this season.

5:51 p.m. ET

Gauff breaks to start the final set. Sabalenka kept her cool to break through Gauff's defensive effort to save one break point, but the World No.6 gets it on her second opportunity. Gauff nearly gets undone by a netcord that falls short, but she speeds up to it to take control of the point and Slams down an eventual overhead to close out the game. 

Fun anecdote here from Alison Riske-Amritraj:

Gauff leads 1-0.

5:59 p.m. ET

Gauff secures a double-break advantage. Her presence is felt all over the court as she relentlessly chases every ball, continuously challenging Sabalenka. For the past 30 minutes, Sabalenka has not had the answers. She's now up to 38 unforced errors in this match with 24 coming from the forehand alone. 

Gauff leads 3-0.

6:08 p.m. ET

Gauff holds off a charge to extend her lead to 4-0. Sabalenka, now up to 40 unforced errors on the night, looks to be cruising to a love hold to get on the board. But Gauff isn't taking a single point off now. She closes the gap to 40-30 before Sabalenka finds a forehand winner to close out the game. 

Sabalenka has called the trainer on the changeover. She did make an awkward movement while chasing down a ball in the last game. She's taking a medical timeout now.

Gauff leads 4-1.

6:18 p.m. ET

After the medical break, Sabalenka comes out swinging. She gets one break back to close the gap to 4-2, but Gauff responds with another smart, physical game to break. She dig in to win a 20-shot rally to stop Sabalenka's momentum and then closes out the game with a forehand winner. 

After the changeover, Coco Gauff will serve to become the youngest American US Open champion since Serena Williams. 

Gauff leads 5-2.

6:23 p.m. ET: Coco Gauff is the 2023 US Open Champion!

What an incredible comeback from the 19-year-old American to capture her first Grand Slam title, beating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. She is the third American teenager to win the US Open, following Tracy Austin and Serena Williams. 

The US Open is her fourth title of 2023, tying Iga Swiatek for the most on tour. 

On Monday, she will rise to a new career-high ranking at No.3 behind Sabalenka and Swiatek. 

6:27 p.m. ET

Coco Gauff is in tears as it slowly sinks in on court. She heads to up the stands in Arthur Ashe Stadium as it met by her father, Cori, and mother, Candi, and the trio share an tearful hug. Gauff then heads to her coaches box, where Brad Gilbert gives her a hug. "I'm so f****** proud of you."

6:39 p.m. ET

Aryna Sabalenka was holding back the tears during her on-court interview. Still, as Mary Joe Fernandez reminds her, she will rise to World No.1 for the first time on Monday.

"Congrats Coco," Sabalenka said. "You played unbelievable. You guys deserve this title. Many more to come, I'm sure." 

6:52 p.m. ET

Coco Gauff still seems in a state of shock as she's interviewed by Fernandez during the trophy ceremony. But once she takes the mic over to speak her mind, Gauff lays it down.

"Honestly, thank you to the people who didn't believe in me," she said. "A month ago, I won a 500 title, two weeks ago I won a 1000, and people said that was going to be the biggest I was gonna get. So three weeks later, I'm here with this trophy now.

"I've tried my best to carry this with grace. To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it and I am burning so bright right now."

7:05 p.m. ET

Coco Gauff has started her media rounds, but she still takes the time to pop on Instagram Live right after she walks off the ESPN desk. 

Things we learned from her Instagram Live: She's excited to not have to do her postmatch cool-down routine -- she's sick of stretching, ice baths, and protein shakes -- and she doesn't know how she plans to celebrate.

"This is New York and I can't even drink or do any of that stuff," she said. "I don't do any of that stuff. Maybe a burger and fries."

And that's it from me on the grounds here in New York. Thanks for tuning in for the last chapter of the 2023 Grand Slam season!