Tennis-Gauff moves fast to ease Spike Lee's NBA pain

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) -When Coco Gauff saw that Spike Lee was attending her French Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, she felt she could cheer up the American film director after the recent NBA heartbreak suffered by his beloved New York Knicks.

Gauff upset world number one Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 on Saturday to win her second Grand Slam singles title.

"It was honestly the first time I really met him up close," Gauff told a press conference.

Having spotted Lee watching her in previous matches, including at the U.S. Open, Gauff was thrilled to see him courtside again during the warm-up against Sabalenka.

"I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Spike Lee is there'," she said.

"I thought, if I win this match, the first person I’m going to see is Spike Lee."

And she did, making a beeline for Lee to share a joyful celebration despite the Knicks’ painful loss in the NBA's Eastern Conference finals last week.

"I wanted to tell him that even though the Knicks didn’t win, I gave him something to cheer for," Gauff said.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)