Muguruza, who lost to Williams in last year’s final at Wimbledon, became the first Spanish woman to win a Grand Slam title since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario won the French Open in 1998.
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The 72-year-old, who is a 12-time Grand Slam victor, expressed concern about Williams after she failed to match fourth seed Muguruza in the power department.
That score traded heavily off Muguruza’s wowing shots, which she repeatedly punished into corners where Williams could not reach them, and brought her first Grand Slam title on her second try at a final.
The upset denied the world No 1 equalling Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles.
The Spaniard produced a stunning display of power tennis at Roland Garros to defeat defending champion Serena Williams 7-5 6-4 before collecting the trophy from King.
The 22-year-old, who will be ranked second behind Williams when the standings are updated on Monday, was cowed by nerves when she faced the American for the Wimbledon trophy last summer.
Since then she continued to go from strength to strength, rapidly rising up the rankings, reaching her first grand slam final at Wimbledon and winning what was to that point her biggest career title in Beijing, all a year ago.
After losing the title match at the Australian Open in January, this is Serena’s second major final of the year, while for Muguruza, it’s the second of her entire career.
“I think we both were very nervous”, Muguruza said after the match.
Williams had been well below her best in her previous two wins over Yulia Putintseva and Kiki Bertens and it was revealed by M arion Bartoli in commentary for ITV4 that the American had received treatment for a thigh problem.
It took a moment for Muguruza to realize she had actually won.
“I guess it’s how you look at it”.
But she does know how to play it.
Muguruza won all six points of 10 shots or more in the first set and, indeed, there was no junkballing on this day. “I won. It was unbelievable”. “I see neither”, he told reporters in the Roland Garros players’ lounge after Saturday’s defeat.
The Spaniard was buoyed by the point and even Williams had to praise her opponent’s form when she shot a slick forehand victor down the line to hold serve. She then scored a bagel in each of her straight set wins over Myrtille Georges and Yanina Wickmayer. Serena, running for the ball, stopped because she thought it was out.
On Monday, Muguruza, whose hard-hitting game is at its devastating best on fast courts, will be second in the WTA rankings going into the grass season.
Muguruza has a history of leaving Williams feeling ill at ease in Paris as the Spaniard is the only woman to have beaten the American there since 2012.
Stat of the Day: 0-2, 21-0 – Since the start of the 2013 French Open, Williams’ records in Paris against Muguruza and against all other opponents in the tournament.
“She was really intense and really focused this tournament”, said Martinez.
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Besides her technical ability, Muguruza also displayed impressive mental toughness to withstand the pressure that allowed her to win her first major title.
