For the first time, La Borinquena was played at an Olympic medal ceremony.
Advertisement
Del Potro, who earned a bronze for Argentina four years ago, will add a silver or gold to that after advancing to the Rio Games final by coming back to stun the third-seeded Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5). She immediately flung her racket and went to collect the flag that she would parade across the court. The second-ranked Kerber won the Australian Open in January and lost to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final in July. “I went to bed at 5am because I spent five hours in hospital having a CT scan and finding out I have a orbital fracture in my face”, she said.
“She deserved to win”, said Kerber, a Wimbledon finalist last month. “And the way I did this victory tonight, I wouldn’t want it any other way”. “I tried everything. she played better in the end”.
“It’s still a special feeling. It’s the best moment in my career, I swear!” Puig added that she had to play some inspired tennis to beat her.
Michael Phelps brought down the curtain on his glittering Olympic career when he helped the U.S. win 4x100m medley relay gold at the Rio Games on Saturday, taking his personal tally to 23. However, she was the more dominant one on her first serve points, winning 33 out of 46 such points (72 percent) as opposed to Kerber who won just 36 of 53 (68 percent).
She now shares the record of four golds with her sister Serena. I was very anxious going into the match; we couldn’t really perform, and that’s the most painful part.
However, she responded by going on the attack and immediately broke back, setting the tone for the rest of the match. “So the emotion is nearly even bigger because you don’t know what to expect”.
The world number 141 Del Potro, whose career was nearly ended by a series of wrist operations, triumphed after three hours and eight minutes of compelling centre court action.
Final score: 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Murray is defending gold medalist, but it will be hard to top Saturday’s spectacular semifinal between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Del Potro.
“It means a lot for Puerto Ricans”, Baez said before Sunday night’s game at Wrigley Field.
“The island is full of such bad news all the time, so every time there’s a Games and somebody from the Island wins a medal everything stops and I know how happy people get”.
“I didn’t expect to get to the final; I didn’t expect to beat Djokovic. I just love where I come from”.
FENCING: U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, of Maplewood, came to the Rio Games determined to show the world that sports is a place where Muslim-American women can excel.
Advertisement
After two relatively straight-forward matches to open her tournament, the 22-year-old stepped up a gear or three with comprehensive wins over Garbine Muguruza and Laura Siegemund before seeing off Kvitova.
