Serena Williams vs. Garbine Muguruza: French Open 2016 Women's Final Predictions

Serena Williams may have had a scare in her semi-final against Kiki Bertens, eventually winning 7-6(7), 6-4, but the world No. 1 still looks well-placed to equal Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slam titles by winning the 2016 French Open on Saturday.

Reaching that milestone will demand seeing off Garbine Muguruza, who was very impressive against Samantha Stosur in the other semi-final, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard is facing both the best player in the women's game and the force of history, but she won't be beaten easily.

Here are some predictions ahead of the match at Roland Garros:

Williams Will Make a Faster Start than Against Bertens

"Lethargic and world-weary" was one description Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times applied to Williams' early showing against Bertens. Those were apt words for a set that went to a tiebreak before Williams eventually held on for a 7-6 win.

Several factors might have contributed to Williams' uneven beginning. One such factor might have been injury, according to this tweet from WTA Insider citing the television broadcast at Roland Garros:

Williams did offer a soft confirmation that she had been troubled physically on court:

But style of play also factored in, as Rothenberg noted Williams was taken out of the comfort zone of her usual game:

Last year's winner wasn't quite herself for long moments against Bertens. Yet Williams is sure to be buoyed by the relief of having survived her struggles and still making it to another final.

Along with the incentive of chasing history, that relief will help Williams play with more assurance in the final. Expect a comfortable opening-set win.

Williams Won't Win in Straight Sets

Even though she'll make quick work of the first set, don't count on Williams to do the same in the second. There's more than one reason to think Muguruza will push this final to a third set.

For one thing, although the head-to-head rivalry favours Williams, Muguruza has beaten Williams on this stage before, according to WTA Insider:

But victory at the same tournament two years ago won't be enough for Muguruza to cause Williams a few headaches. Instead, she'll be wise to lean more on the form that carried her to an opening-set win in just 33 minutes against Stosur, per WTATennis.com.

The 22-year-old will pose enough problems to make Williams wait for her moment of history.

However, the world No. 1 will eventually overpower the fourth seed and retain her title.