French Open 2016: Women's Final Winner, Score and Twitter Reaction
Garbine Muguruza shocked Serena Williams to win her first ever Grand Slam on Saturday, beating the world No. 1 in two sets at the French Open. The set scores were 7-5, 6-4.
The 22-year-old had the upper hand in the majority of the rallies, and while both players made plenty of mistakes, Muguruza took the upper hand from the baseline at key moments.
The result means Williams will have to wait until Wimbledon for her chance to win her 22nd career Grand Slam, an Open era record currently held by Steffi Graf.
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As shared by BBC Sport, while Williams led the head-to-head between the two, Muguruza had reason to believe in her chances:
The world No. 1 started the match in dominant fashion, with a hold to love, but her opponent answered right back, setting the tone for an excellent first set. Muguruza dealt well with Williams' power and even regularly beat her from the baseline, something few players are capable of.
The Spanish star saved a break point in the fourth game and picked a bad time to hit a double fault, but after a lengthy battle, she held. Per tennis blogger Chris Goldsmith, holding serve would be a big key to winning for Muguruza, as Williams' has looked fine so far this season:
Muguruza found a breakthrough in the very next game, earning three quick break chances and making the most of the third, as Williams double-faulted. She almost gifted the next game to her opponent, starting with two double-faults of her own, but a couple of long rallies went her way, and she grabbed the game with a beautifully placed forehand down the line.
Williams relied less on her raw power than she normally does, to the delight of Christopher Clarey of the New York Times:
Former professional tennis player Tracy Austin was impressed with her opponent:
Williams held serve and showed her class and experience by grabbing a break just when she needed it most. Some smart pressure from the baseline forced Muguruza into an error, as Williams kept changing the pace of her attack and putting the Spanish star off-balance.
Another double fault gave Muguruza an opening to work with in the next game, but Williams eventually pulled through, and another quick service game led to the turning point in the set. A fantastic backhand winner saw Muguruza earn a break point, which she converted to reclaim the lead, before saving two break points herself and closing out the set.
Former tennis pro Patrick McEnroe wondered whether the fourth seed could keep up such a high level of play:
The poor serving continued in the second set, as the first three games all resulted in breaks. A handful of errors from Williams gave Muguruza the lead, before two double faults from the challenger restored parity.
But Williams started to lose control of her groundstrokes, and another unforced error gave Muguruza two more chances and the eventual lead. Snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't like Williams' chances at this stage and came to her defence:
Muguruza finally held serve with a pretty winner, and Williams followed her example, as the standard of play improved once again midway through the second set. Both started to rely heavily on their power in the rallies, and the fans were treated to a handful of short, but spectacular exchanges.
And while Williams never seemed to lose her focus, neither did Muguruza, who cleaned up her serve and moved within a single game of her first Grand Slam title before long.
Clarey still believed in her opponent's chances:
An ill-advised drop-shot into the net from Williams gave Muguruza her first championship point on her opponent's serve, and Williams would defend four more match points before finally grabbing the game and keeping her championship bid alive.
Muguruza quickly worked her way to three more championship points on her own serve in the next game, however, before finishing in style to win the French Open.
Per BBC Sport, Muguruza was ecstatic with the win:
The rising star's previous best result in a Grand Slam came at Wimbledon, the next tournament on the tennis calendar, where she reached the final last year, and given her powerful playing style, she has to be considered among the favourites on the quicker lawn surface.
The same goes for Williams, however, who looked far from her best on Saturday but tends to play far better on the quick surfaces.
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