Cori 'Coco' Gauff and Caty McNally beat fellow americans Hailey Baptiste and Dalayna Hewitt, 6-3, 6-2, to win the 2018 US Open girls' doubles championship Sunday in only their second tournament together.

 

The win caps a fine fortnight for Team USA, which also saw Emilio Nava and Axel Nefve reach the boys' doubles final, Coco Vandeweghe pick up a women's doubles title, Bethanie Mattek-Sands win a mixed doubles trophy and Serena Williams reach the women's singles final.

"It means so much especially because it's like a home Slam for both of us," said McNally, who previously lost the junior doubles final with Whitney Osuigwe and won the French Open girls' doubles title with Iga Swiatek. "I've never done that well I feel like at this tournament but this year I did better than I did last year in singles and in doubles so I'm really happy we could take the title."

 

For Gauff, who beat her doubles partner in singles play at Roland Garros in May, the win gives her her second major title, after she won the girls' singles title in Paris.

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"The US Open is my favorite Slam, I always have good results here in New York," said Gauff, who reached the final of the singles last summer. "I was super excited when we won because I really didn't want to let Caty down because she's unreal. I felt like I did step my game up to level up with her."

 

Gauff and McNally broke three times in each set, dominating from the beginning despite being broken twice in the opener and once in the second set.

 

Gauff double-faulted three times with a 4-1 lead in the second, but the pair, who first played together at the Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy in Eastbourne, England, broke right back before serving out the match.

 

"I thought we played really well today," McNally said. "We did a good job, especially when we got the breaks to back it up by holding serve. I think we were more aggressive and that helped a lot."

Added 14-year-old Gauff: "I was nervous and Caty was great, she was telling me to calm down and relax, we were still up in the lead. She was good, calming me down, and I was able to play my game." 

 

After the victory, McNally praised the depth of American tennis, on display in the juniors this week just as it was when four U.S. women contested the women's semifinals in the main draw last year.

 

"It's definitely really bright," said 16-year-old Ohio native McNally, who served out the match to love. "I think it's really awesome that the final can be four Americans, it just shows that were all doing really well. For me, I think it's important to play singles and doubles just because sometimes you'll go out in the first round but you can build off those doubles matches and get confidence and rhythm and experience in the match play. It's good we all got to the finals."

 

Earlier Sunday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Nava and Nefve fell to Adrian Andreev and Anton Matusevich, 6-2, 2-6, [10-8]. 

 

Vandeweghe teamed up with Ash Barty to beat No. 2 seed Kristina Mladenovich and Timea Babos, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, while on Saturday, Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray beat Alicja Rosolska and Nikola Mektic, 2-6, 6-3, [11-9].