She will play Garbine Muguruza in today’s final with the prize for her being a 22nd Grand Slam title, equalling the Open-era record set by Steffi Graf in Paris in 1999.
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Williams’ 6-4, 6-4 victory at Wimbledon last summer in Muguruza’s first appearance in a Grand Slam final was their most recent encounter, but the match that might feature more prominently in both players’ minds was their meeting here in the second round two years ago.
For the second match in a row, the No. 1-seeded Williams was hardly at her best, falling behind early and making 22 unforced errors in the first set alone.
Muguruza, the tournament’s fourth seed, had little trouble defeating Australia’s Samantha Stosur, 6-2, 6-4.
That was just as close, with first Williams taking the lead, 5-2, then Bertens levelling for 5-5 and working a set point at 7-6, but the experience and superior serving of Williams was decisive: She took the set, 7-6 (7). The slow clay will help the return of both players, but as Williams is the superior shot-maker, it will be an even greater advantage for her. Jumping on Muguruza’s serve will allow Williams to take command of points. On her first match point Stosur netted a forehand to give Muguruza victory after an hour and 16 minutes and take her into her first clay-court final. The 2016 French Open title match will mark her second Grand Slam final appearance.
Her opponent Muguruza handed Williams her heaviest ever loss at a slam at Roland Garros two years ago, beating the great American 6-2 6-2 in the second round. Only Margaret Court, with 24, has won more.
The Venezuelan-born Muguruza raced into a 4-0 lead against Stosur and swept the first set in 32 minutes.
The Swiss player staved off two break points in the third game of the third set and he gained some energy from a centre-court crowd largely pulling for him.
Is the world No. 1 – victor of 21 Grand Slam singles title and arguably the best women’s tennis player to ever play the game – the underdog in the French Open final? Muguruza was green then and she will be less green on Saturday when she competes in her second major final.
Conchita Martinez was the last Spaniard to get to the Roland Garros final in 2000 when she lost to Mary Pierce while Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was the country’s last champion in 1998. Williams led 4-2 at the change and when she struck her final, vicious forehand hard into the dirt, she let out a cry that sounded like a mix of celebration and relief.
Again though, the Dutch star handed the momentum back to her opponent as Williams first broke back straight away and then got her nose in front by breaking again in the seventh game of the match. After Muguruza’s win in 2014 in Paris, they met again in the quarterfinals at the 2015 Australian Open, where Serena needed three sets to advance.
The Australian, 10 years older and the 2010 runner-up, won just six points in that early blitz before she got on the board with a service hold in the fifth game.
The highest-seeded player Williams has faced so far was 18th seed Elina Svitolina, so world number four Muguruza represents a significant step up.
On yet another chilly and overcast day the temperature was just 12C when Williams and Bertens entered Court Philippe Chatrier for the other semi-final. The grander the stage, the tougher she plays. Serena looked a step slow in the quarters, and only Bertens’ calf injury made her the better mover in their semifinal match. Instead of facing two set points, the defending champion was suddenly well positioned to break and duly did so. Last time we played here in France she was able to win the match.
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Bertens kept smacking big forehands, creating outright winners or forcing Williams into mistakes.
