She might have been a footnote to the "Serena Slam" on Saturday, but 21-year-old Garbine Muguruza earned a lot of respect and praise from her opponent, Serena Williams.
The Wimbledon champion, who romped away with her sixth title at the All England Club, 6-4, 6-4, heaped praise on her young competitor just as organizers handed out trophies for both of them.
"Garbine played so well. Congratulations, you will be holding this trophy very, very soon, believe me," Williams said as the prize was handed to her.
"It's good when you hear something like this from a legend," Muguruza replied when asked her thoughts about Williams' remarks. "Hopefully I can do it. I was close."
Moved to tears by the rousing accolade from the crowd as she received the runner-up trophy, the Spainiard said: "I enjoyed it a lot. I don't have words to say how I feel. I love to play this sport, and a Grand Slam final is a dream come true."
At the onset of the match, Muguruza appeared to have control of the match as she paced the first set 4-2. She forced Williams a series of errors, then scoring with her forehand to gain the upper hand.
As the crowd cheered on the Spaniard, Williams seized control of the momentum by slowing the match down until she mustered enough counterattack to put Muguruza on the ropes. The American later took the first set.
At 5-1 in the second set, Williams looked like she had the victory in the bag. But Muguruza mounted a furious comeback that the crowd enjoyed immensely. She whittled down the lead one point after another, closing in at 5-4.
Williams' experience came through at the juncture as Muguruza committed errors, and dropped serve, allowing the American to run away with the title.
Despite losing, Muguruza said she believed that there were plus sides in the outcome of the match.
"I couldn't stop crying, so many people were clapping. I felt special because I think they saw in me that I really wanted to win, that I was really enjoying it, that I give everything to tennis," she said.
"They actually liked seeing someone fighting so much. It has been an emotional two weeks, but really happy," she continued. "I am going to leave here really motivated. This will give me the power to keep practising and improving, to see what else I can do."