Garbine Muguruza beats Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 to win the French Open title.
Game, set, match Garbine Muguruza! A whopping backhand winner has beaten World No. 1 Serena Williams. Arguably the Greatest of All Time. Strong on every surface.
Muguruza 7-5, 5-4, will serve for the match.
FOUR MATCH POINTS SAVED FOR SERENA WILLIAMS.
Let that sink in.
She’s all but out of this game numerically – or so we thought. This is why few things can match the tenacity of Williams, even when she’s down this badly
Just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in! Serena Williams goes a bit Michael Corleone with this to save championship point as she brings it back to deuce. Can she save this?
Williams sends the ball long – and it’s advantage Muguruza!
And could anyone have called that? Championship point Garbine Muguruza!
Serena Williams pulls back that point but it’s still Muguruza’s second match point.
SMASH! Garbine Muguruza, take a bow. Williams is sending the ball flying to all corners of the court – and not necessarily effectively. She’s spraying the court with errors now, and her nerves are beginning to show.
Muguruza leads the second set 4-2!
Suddenly Serena Williams’ game is getting patchy. Errors, both forced and unforced, are making their way across court as Muguruza leads the second set 4-2.
Garbine Muguruza wins the first set 7-5!
SET POINT! An edge-of-the-seat fight if there ever was one. And it’s Muguruza who, with some well-placed aces, seizes the game and the set with it!
FIRST SET: Garbine Muguruza leads 6-5
Muguruza serving to stay in the set – and she’s playing with a renewed vigour. Pressure appears to have worked – she holds serve for 5-5 and stays in the set! Now she’s at break point and Williams, who broke her back earlier, is now on the back foot. It’s still the American who has the stronger game statistically, but Spain-raised Muguruza shows her heritage and clay expertise.
From going to serving to stay in the set, Muguruza now serves for the set!
Back in the game! Serena gets a shot off an errant Muguruza backhand shot – and now leads 5-4!
And there it is – Serena breaks back! She’s audibly angry and that aggression has translated into her game. There’s a renewed power in her serve and she’s just hit a 190km/hr ace.
Serena’s fighting back – and it’s not over at all. Muguruza was leading Serena in the first set of the pair’s Wimbledon final last year and it was still Williams who won that title.
Garbine Muguruza leads 4-3!
Garbine Muguruza leads 4-2!
And she’s back! Some brilliantly strong serves from Muguruza at the baseline and she’s fighting her way back into this game! She’s the first to break – leading Serena Williams 3-2 and looking to capitalize on her break up now. Williams is getting frustrated – and now Muguruza’s shot placement is perfect.
Garbine Muguruza holds again but it’s proving quite the effort from the Spaniard. Scores at 2-2 with each player holding their service games.
Three break points for Serena Williams! Muguruza makes an elementary unforced error to mar an otherwise decent game.
Muguruza holds her own serve, but just barely! Serena Williams is sticking to the baseline for now and Muguruza is clearly struggling with Williams’ power serve. It’s taking her quite the effort to return.
Easy as pie for Serena Williams! She holds her first service game to go 1-0 against Garbine Muguruza in a matter of minutes.
The pair are now on! Will it be Serena Williams with her 22nd Grand Slam or Garbine Muguruza with her very first?
Almost time! Almost time to play and the two finalists will be out on Court Philippe Chatrier, with Muguruza looking for her first ever Grand Slam title. Can she unseat the reigning champion?
Although she’s been beaten by the Spaniard at Roland-Garros before, Serena is no slouch on clay – if she wins, this will be her fourth French Open title.
World No. 1 Serena Williams will take on No. 4 Garbine Muguruza of Spain at the finals of the women's singles at the French Open today. The American, who has been near-unbeatable on every surface, will look today to break Steffi Graf's record of 21 Grand Slams; Williams is currently tied with the German, and should she win today, will take her own 22nd title - the highest of any player in the Open Era.
The pair have met on four occasions in the past, with Williams coming out on top three times. Interestingly, however, the one time the Spaniard has beat Williams, not only was that match on clay, it was also specifically on the claycourts of Roland Garros, in 2014.
It is also not the first time the two have met at the finals of a Grand Slam. Williams played Muguruza at the finals of Wimbledon last year, beating her in straight sets – 6-4, 6-4 to take victory.
Meanwhile, the American missed out on an opportunity for a Calendar Slam in 2016 after being upset in the finals of the Australian Open by Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who has since seen a drop in form.
Williams is reigning champion at Roland Garros, having won the tournament last year with a victory over Czech player Lucie Safarova.
Muguruza comes into the finals on the back of a straight sets victory over Australia’s Samantha Stosur, whom she beat 6-2, 6-4, while Williams was challenged slightly by Kiki Bertens, who took the American to a first set tiebreak before Williams eventually beat her in straight sets.
Today, Williams will fight to avenge her claycourt loss to the Spaniard, who is herself accomplished on clay. Given that Williams has been in unassailable form she will be a difficult opponent, but Muguruza, who is extremely adept on the surface and has taken some easier victories at this year’s French Open, will be a wily adversary.
The match begins at 6:30 p.m. IST.
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