PARIS — About 11 months ago, Garbiñe Muguruza stood drying on the grass court of Wimbledon after losing to Serena Williams in the women’s final. The champion that day consoled the vanquished, telling her not to be sad, that one day she would win a major tournament.
Less than a year later, Williams’s prophecy came true at her own expense. In a rematch of the Wimbledon final that was played on red clay instead of green grass, No. 4 Muguruza upset No. 1 Williams, 7-5, 6-4, on Saturday to capture the 2016 French Open.
It is the first Grand Slam title for Muguruza, a 22-year-old Spaniard who was born in Venezuela.
“Today Garbiñe played unbelievable,” Williams said after the match. “The only thing I can do is just keep trying.”
For Williams, who was playing through a strained upper leg muscle, her pursuit of a 22nd major tournament championship will continue, presumably at Wimbledon. Only two other women have won that many majors, including Margaret Court, who won 24 (13 of those were before the Open era). Steffi Graf holds the Open-era record with 22.
Williams won her 21st when she beat Muguruza in the Wimbledon final last July, and at the time it seemed inevitable that she would have reached Graf’s mark by now. But a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci in a semifinal at the United States Open prevented it from happening there. It also squashed Williams’s hope of winning the elusive Grand Slam — all four major tournaments in one calendar year.
