French Open 2016: Serena Williams aims to equal Grand Slam record
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
| French Open - women's singles final |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Date: Saturday, 4 June Start time: 14:00 BST |
| Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, the BBC Sport website and app. |
World number one Serena Williams is hoping to win a 22nd Grand Slam singles trophy in the French Open final against fourth seed Garbine Muguruza.
A win against the Spaniard, 22, would see Williams defend her title and equal the Open-era record set by Steffi Graf in Paris 17 years ago.
Saturday's showpiece is a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final, which Williams won in straight sets.
"If I get there it will be great," said the 34-year-old of Graf's record.
"The only thing I can do is just play to win the tournament and that's it."
Muguruza is entering only her second major final but did hand Williams her heaviest ever defeat in a Grand Slam - 6-2 6-2 in the second round at Roland Garros in 2014.
Williams said of that loss: "I learned so much from that match.
"I hate to lose, but when I do, I hope it was worth it. That match was definitely one of those that was kind of needed and worth it."
Williams looked out-of-sorts in her semi-final against unseeded Kiki Bertens, but came through 7-6 (9-7) 6-4, while Muguruza cruised to a 6-2 6-4 win over former finalist Sam Stosur of Australia.
Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou said after her victory that the "keys of the final" are in the three-time champion's hands.
Muguruza responded by saying: "I think that she and I are players who like dictating the game. If the coach says that the victory is in the hands of Serena, OK. He's allowed to say that.
"But I think I'm going to fight for each point. There will be moments when she'll be dominating, and maybe at times I will be dominating. I think I can be a tough opponent, too."
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