Monica Puig overpowered Angelique Kerber 6-4 4-6 6-1 in the women’s tennis final on Saturday to win Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold medal.
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People took to the streets across Puerto Rico to celebrate the country’s first Olympic gold medal won by woman tennis player Monica Puig at the Rio Games.
Puig’s historic gold medal was just reward for a fearless display full of attacking intent against her more illustrious opponent, who won the 2016 Australian Open and also reached the Wimbledon last month.
On Sunday, Venus also bids to become the first ever tennis player to win five Olympic gold medals. “And I just love where I come from”. In Toronto previous year, the German was just too strong for the Puerto Rican as she eased to a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Whether or not she can do it is hard to determine, as based on her form in Rio, there’s every chance that she can overcome the final hurdle.
Fifteen of the world’s top 20 were in Rio and it certainly would not have been a surprise if Kerber, the Australian Open champion and world No 2, had walked off with the top prize.
“I know my country really appreciates this and I wanted to give it to them”. This was especially evident during the second set, which Kerber won 6-4.
Puig said on Friday she would study the lyrics of the Puerto Rican national anthem, in case she won the final.
“She deserved to win”, said Kerber, a Wimbledon finalist last month. “Puerto Rico!” and celebrated with Puig.
With Kerber holding the momentum, it was Puig all the way in the finale taking a 5-0 lead. Kerber usually finds a way to still be risky and impactful from those positions, but Puig’s commitment to her game plan remained unwavering. Not only is she the first female Puerto Rican athlete to win an Olympic medal, she is also the first gold medallist in the nation’s history.
But Puig got back into that set by breaking to 4-all when a 23-stroke exchange ended with Kerber dumping a forehand volley into the net.
The No.2-seeded Murray earned a gold in singles and a silver in mixed doubles for Britain at the 2012 London Games.
She’s displayed the undeniable talent that she possesses this week, but in addition, she’s shown the resolve and ability to deal with adversity that separates the pretenders from the contenders.
Del Potro advanced to the final by coming back to stun the third-seeded Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
One player who will not be standing in Williams’ way is two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova after she sustained a right leg injury in Brazil. I got better as the tournament went on, got stronger and faster.
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In the men’s semifinals, former world number four Juan Del Potro edged past title favorite Rafael Nadal of Spain in a marathon singles.
