Muguruza’s straight-set victory over Serena Williams in Saturday’s final gave the 22-year-old Spaniard her first Grand Slam title.
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Serena Williams will have to wait for the opportunity to tie Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the open-era in women’s tennis with 22. Williams defended four of Muguruza’s championship points on her serve at 5-3 and win a 16-point game to force the Spaniard to serve for the match.
“You know, if I get there it will be great”.
She also becomes the third consecutive first-time Grand Slam female champion, following on from Flavia Pennetta (2015 US Open) and Angelique Kerber (2016 Australian Open), and only the second player of any gender born in the 1990s (after dual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova) to achieve the ultimate success.
She lost to Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final but will go there this year with a significant chance of winning back-to-back majors.
US player Serena Williams serves the ball to Spain’s Garbine Muguruza during their women’s final match at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris on June 4, 2016. Williams was offset by a hindrance call early in the second set, as well, berating the chair umpire on the subsequent change overs for making the call against her. “Do not look my way”, she told chair umpire Eva Asderaki. “Hopefully she will be again in a position to be in finals and win another big title, because honestly this is awesome”.
“She deserved to win”, said Mouratoglou. But Muguruza has won her past two matches against Williams on the clay of Roland Garros, including in the second round in 2014. It’s normal. You can not play a grand slam final for history the same way as any other.
“At the end of the day I didn’t play the game I needed to play to win and she did”. Six foot tall and rangy, the Spaniard plays an uncompromising game that can take the racket out of her opponent’s hands, while she also projects a cool and relaxed personality.
The victor of 21 Grand Slams looked just breaking down after losing to Garbine Muguruza in the women’s singles final of the French Open on Saturday.
“She has a bright future, obviously”, Williams said.
Williams though has been perplexingly out-of-sorts all week in the cold, damp conditions that have dogged Roland Garros and she sounded distinctly underwhelmed by the record prospect when asked about it following her semi-final win over Kiki Bertens.
Williams actually posted better numbers in winners and unforced errors, compiling 23 winners and 22 unforced errors to Muguruza’s 18 and 25. I want to thank my group, my family. “I go for my shots with no regrets”. “She held her nerve”. She hits down the line off a cross court.
Trading massive blows from the baseline, Muguruza was able to respond to Williams’s power and even up it at times, her down the line forehand in stunning form.
“I proved to myself that I can play really well, that I can manage my stress”, Muguruza said, “and win against one of the best players in the world”.
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She realized after her Wimbledon final run that she would be one of “the hunted”, but said Saturday that’s what she prefers.
