Serena Williams vs. Garbine Muguruza: Score, Reaction from 2015 Australian Open

Serena Williams got all she could handle from a game Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round of the 2015 Australian Open. However, the No. 1 seed still prevailed in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, to advance in Melbourne, Australia.

Williams and Muguruza have some history at major tournaments. After a one-sided victory by Serena at the 2013 Australian Open, the 21-year-old Venezuelan beat Williams in the second round of the 2014 French Open.

"She didn't miss a shot; she didn't miss a forehand," said Williams of the 2014 defeat, per Larissa Nicholson of The Sydney Morning Herald. "She miraculously got every ball back, as a top player you have to be ready for that; you have to be ready for everything and anything."

Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press

In order to win the rubber match, Muguruza would have to repeat that performance. In short, she'd need to be perfect on a second occasion.

Early on, it looked like she might do just that.

In the first set, Williams was almost unrecognizable on serve. Although she had five aces and won 11 of her 13 first-service points, she lost all but one of her 12 second-service points. It doesn't matter who your opponent is, a figure like that almost always spells doom.

Muguruza deserves full credit for her brilliant first set, of course. She outshone the best player in the world by some distance, as SI Tennis noted:

Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times argued that Muguruza's performance illustrated her massive potential:

Williams had no reason to panic, though. She dropped the first set to Elina Svitolina in the third round before rolling in the second and third sets. ESPN Tennis added that Serena was batting over .500 at the Australian Open after losing the first set:

"

Serena still has winning record at #AusOpen when losing first set: 11-7. This is only Slam she has winning record when losing the 1st.

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 26, 2015"

Indeed, it looked like Muguruza would collapse much as Svitolina did after Williams dominated the second set. Williams was much better on serve, winning seven of her 10 second-service points and also breaking Muguruza twice in five tries, compared to zero in six in the first.

Muguruza looked like she'd push Williams to the brink after the first two games of the third set. She nearly had a 2-0 set lead before Williams ultimately held serve. She then quickly broke Muguruza in the third game and essentially cruised from there.

Muguruza had six break-point opportunities in that third and final set, failing to covert on any of them. As Sporting News' Jesse Spector noted, it's nearly impossible to beat Williams after giving her so many escapes:

The final score wasn't necessarily indicative of the gulf between the two players. Williams really had a hard time getting a read on Muguruza, and it wasn't until the third set that she really started looking herself.

Sometimes, even the best players in the world need to be tested like this before they can hit their top gear. Perhaps Monday was the wake-up call Williams needed.

She'll play No. 11 seed Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals. Williams has won all four of the previous meetings between the two.

For Muguruza, this will undoubtedly be a bit of a disappointment. She had Williams on the ropes but couldn't take advantage.

There's no question, though, that she's on the way up. It's only a matter of time before she'll be regularly making deep runs at major tournaments.

Note: Stats are courtesy of AusOpen.com.