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.