Muguruza overpowers Serena to win 1st Slam title
Women's tennis has its newest superstar.
Garbine Muguruza announced herself to the sporting world Saturday by topping first-ranked defending French Open champion Serena Williams in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
The stunning victory was the first Grand Slam win for the 22-year-old Spaniard on a meteoric rise.
Muguruza joins Flavia Pennetta and Angelique Kerber as the only first-time Slam winners to beat Williams for a major title.
Saturday marked the fifth meeting between the two, with Williams holding a 3-1 advantage entering the final. The result didn't seem straightforward, however, after the defending champion wasn't at her best in seeing off Kiki Bertens in the semis.
Sometimes as breathtaking in the rain as when the sun bounces off the edifices of Gothic-style infancy or the mish-mash of the Belle Epoque, Paris is a city that suits all conditions.
And like the city painted grey by a seemingly unending deluge while hosting the world's best tennis players, Williams is the game's zenith, even when hindered by an ailment or unfavorable conditions. Saturday wasn't her day.
An unexpected service break
Muguruza made a good account of herself early, breaking Williams in the fifth game of the opening stanza with an aggressive display. It was the first time the defending champ had been broken all tournament, leading to just the second dropped set of the tournament. Let that sink in for a moment.
In the end, the first-time Slam winner broke Williams four times in ten chances.
Turning point
With Williams holding a 2-5 record in her Grand Slam final appearances, dropping the opening set to Muguruza wasn't a back-breaking obstacle. That distinction belonged to the first game of the second set.
Muguruza matched each of Williams' serves with robust returns and ground strokes, opting occasionally for a screaming backhand that sprayed shots beyond a noticeably injured world No. 1. Williams next broke her opponent's serve to level the second stanza at twos, but the writing was etched in the red clay of Roland Garros.
Muguruza's power, mobility too much for Williams
Matching power with power, fourth-seeded Muguruza thrived using her sneaky mobility. Williams was far from her best, hitting well wide on several unforced errors coupled with a fascination for hitting into the net.
But Williams didn't lose the match; Muguruza won it.
Williams made 31 unforced errors and appeared labored. Afterward, the 21-time Grand Slam winner admitted an adductor concern was bothering her. "Yeah, I have had some issues," she said. "But, you know, it is what it is."
Saturday was Williams' fourth straight day on the clay, and to equal Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slams Open era record, she would have had to overcome a
high-risk, all-or-nothing attacking menace.
In this instance, it was too great an ask.
The next one?
After dropping the first set of the tourney to Anna Schmiedlova, Muguruza didn't drop another in a run to the final that featured impressive victories over Svetlana Kuznetsova and last year's runner-up, Sam Stosur.
The Spaniard's style is synonymous with other recent slam champs like Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Petra Kvitova, and Williams herself - and like those players, Muguruza now appears best equipped to dethrone the 34-year-old, or at least dent her armor.
Of their previous meetings, Williams said the one defeat had had the most significant impact on her. Muguruza stunned the World No. 1 in the French Open quarters on red clay in 2014
"I hate to lose, but when I do, you know, I hope it was worth it," Williams said. "That match was definitely one of those that was kind of needed and worth it."
She added: "It was a really unbelievable lesson for me. It propelled me to many, many, many wins after that."
As Williams learned something from the loss to Muguruza, surely the fourth-seeded youngster did the same after she was on the wrong end of a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final.
If the result at the All England Club represented Muguruza telling the tennis world, "I'm next," Saturday's final on Court Philippe-Chatrier confirmed it.