Williams, 34, had hoped to win a 22nd Grand Slam singles title and tie Steffi Graf’s Open-era record.
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Reflecting on her opponent’s performance, Williams said that Muguruza knows how to perform on a big stage and how to clinch a Grand Slam, insisting that she definitely has a bright future.
Muguruza was prepared to concede double-faults – her tally ending up at nine – to keep Williams at bay on her second serve and it proved a successful tactic. The world no. 4 Muguruza did not look at all like an underdog, breaking Williams four times during the one hour and forty-four minute match.
“I really like that they were very ambitious, ” Muguruza said.
The 22-year-old’s win over Williams also sees her become Spain’s first female champion at Roland Garros since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario won the tournament in 1998.
The 22-year-old won a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon final, but this year turned the tables on the American with her precise power game on the red dirt.
With the French Open officially in the books, how do the rankings stand as the tour heads into the third major tournament of the season? “I guess you can say it took me a while to get to 18, considering, you know, I’m the only one on tour that had 18”, she said. “Of course the grand slams – for instance, I nearly won at Wimbledon [where she lost to Williams]”.
The all-time record of 24 is held by Margaret Court.
That defeat, and the following loss to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final, have, of course, increased the pressure on Williams as she chases No 22, and pressure can do unusual things.
In the last three slams, Williams has lost once in the semi-finals and twice in the final, and Mouratoglou feels history is weighing heavily on her.
Last year, when she collected a sixth Wimbledon, it allowed her to celebrate a second “Serena Slam” of all four majors at the same time.
The final began under a slate ceiling of clouds, but at least there was none of the rain that flooded Paris temporary shut down the Louvre museum.
She did not blame that or a problem with a leg muscle.
The world number one certainly looked a lot sharper at the start of the match and had two chances to break the Muguruza serve in the fourth game.
And yet, it all wound up working out. I didn’t play the game I needed to win. What it boils down to is that Muguruza broke Serena four times, including three in a row. Her backhand’s just phenomenal, and her forehand too. Muguruza also committed just 21 forced errors compared to 39 for Williams.
Muguruza moved out into a 3-1 lead and Williams dug deep to get back to 3-2. Muguruza would bounce back in the final game though, ending the match with a powerful serve that would connect with the baseline.
Williams gamely concedes defeat after the ordeal in which Muguruza beats her convincingly. Soon, she was flat on her back, caking her dress and arms with the rust-colored clay she will never forget.
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For nearly two hours, American Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza of Spain hammered tennis balls back and forth over the net, each one answering the other’s power with power of her own, until the final point.
