Serena William Toughest rival.

PARIS — Serena Williams versus Serena Williams is supposed to be the internal conflict that decides Grand Slam tournaments in this long-running, top-heavy era in women’s tennis. But on Saturday, with the French Open on the line, it looked very much like a fair fight between Serena Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza. A tall and elegant Spaniard who is 12 years younger than Williams, Muguruza has serious stage presence: shoulders back and chin held high. She now has the major title to match, and with her handling the moment and Williams’s big-occasion aura as well as she did on Saturday in her 7-5, 6-4 victory, it is hard not to imagine her managing another such moment with similar aplomb in the near future. “We’ve been saying Serena always beats herself, but today maybe she didn’t play her best tennis but she didn’t play badly either,” said Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion. “She lost to somebody who stood up to her and did not play not to lose. Garbiñe played to win. It’s nice to see.” There were many moments when the upset bid could have unraveled; many occasions when she needed to display strength and resolve to keep Williams from shifting the momentum. There was the fourth game of the match, when Muguruza fought off a break point with an ace. And the final game of the first set, when she rallied from 15-40 with more clutch serving. There was her response after she made three of her nine double faults in a single game to lose her serve and a 1-0 lead in the second set. The response was a flurry of big-bang tennis that allowed her to break Williams straight back. Above all, there was the way Muguruza responded after failing to convert on four championship points on Williams’s serve at 5-3 in the second set. Many a Williams opponent would have taken the hint and the runner-up plate. Muguruza served out the match at love, pushing forward and attempting to resolve the conflict instead of hoping it might resolve itself.

Photo credit: Newyork post..