Serena Williams didn't make any excuses in the aftermath of her French Open final loss.
Garbiñe Muguruza dethroned the world No. 1, 7-5, 6-4, denying Williams' bid to equal Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles.
Watch: Muguruza Dethrones Serena To Win Roland Garros
Williams, who received treatment for an adductor strain during the tournament, said Muguruza's powerful performance on critical points, rather than her injury issue was the key to the final.
"I'm not one to ever make excuses and say, like, Oh, my adductor was hurting or whatever," Williams said. "I think at the end of the day I didn't play the game I needed to play to win and she did. Adductor or not, she played to win. You know, that's what she did."
In an electrifying final, Muguruza won 20 of 35 points played on Williams' second serve and broke the game's premier server four times.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard played pivotal points with bold aggression, joining Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur and Angelique Kerber as just the fifth woman to defeat Serena in a Grand Slam final.
"She won the first set by one point," Williams said. "I mean, that just goes to show you you really have to play the big points well, and I think she played the big points really well."
The world No. 1, a life-long Muhammad Ali fan, posted this Instagram tribute to her the former world heavyweight champion who passed away at the age of 74.
Photo credit: AP Photo