Wimbledon Takeaway #3: Muguruthless Returns

A peculiarly scorching sun had its way with the Wimbledon grass over this fortnight. But the sun also sets. Here, our ongoing roundup of passing shots from SW19, a curated much-ado-about-everything – if a bit less manicured than the Wimble-lawns themselves.

See No. 4.

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Sometimes Serena Williams seems clairvoyant. Sometimes she makes her marks without even appearing at a major event. She certainly proved prescient here:

Unless you've been living under a torn-up patch of grass, you know by now that Garbine Muguruza seized on Serena's absence at Wimbledon this year – having lost the final previously to her here – and stopped elder sister Venus Williams' run by a 7-5, 6-0 decision.

To her credit, Muguruza offered a tribute to Serena after winning her maiden Wimbledon singles crown, hoisting the Venus Rosewater Dish onto her own dome as she passed through the Centre Court partition:

Compatriots and fellow champions such as Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Marion Bartoli took to social media to cheer her victory, which deserved ever kudo it received.

Well after it was over, Muguruza embraced her grass-court coach, Conchita Martinez, herself the 1994 Wimbledon singles winner over one Martina Navratilova.

And here's how the one sometimes branded Muguruthless did it: by shoring up her forehand side, serving economically if not boisterously and taking it to Venus over the final's last nine games, all of which she won.

Muguruza didn't just win, she also fulfilled her wish of brushing shoulders with Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Champions' Ball.

It's worth noting how Muguruza turned around her season from clay to grass, from tears in Paris to a resounding carpe diem moment in London.

The question swirling around her now is whether she can put it together for consecutive-major runs, as she has been well known to either flame out or take out all comers, depending on the state of her game and her brain.

From the Champions' Ball in Alexander McQueen to receiving congratulations from Stella McCartney, Muguruza slayed not just the competition in London but also the style game.

She also won over all remaining hearts in her home country, with Spain's papers sizing up her performance as one of its athletes' best of 2017.

Will she defend her title through seven rounds in 2018? Will she have a go at the U.S. Open title this year in similar fashion? Those questions will piggyback onto every conversation Muguruza is part of in these remaining months of 2017. But of this you can be sure: Moving forward, she is squarely in the conversation for every major she enters.

Follow Jon on Twitter: @jonscott9.