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Angelique Kerber vs. Monica Puig: Preview for 2016 Olympic Tennis Women's Final
August 12, 2016
Angelique Kerber of Germany will battle Puerto Rico starlet Monica Puig for the women's tennis gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games on Saturday after the pair navigated difficult matches in the last four.
Australian Open champion Kerber will be the overwhelming favourite to add Olympic gold to her achievements after eliminating Madison Keys of the United States, 6-3, 7-5.
World No. 34 Puig, 22, beat Petra Kvitova, shocking the 26-year-old, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Kvitova will now face Keys in the bronze-medal match to fight for third.
Currently rated the second-best women's tennis star on the planet, Kerber has experienced the best season of her career as she develops into a Grand Slam mainstay on the circuit, challenging for every trophy on offer.
The German has continued her red-hot form in Brazil and appears set for gold as she challenges an inexperienced opponent in the final.
Puig is a fresh, young talent, and she has shocked the watching crowds with her resilience and engine.
The youngster is yet to reach the latter rounds of a major tournament, with her best showing coming at Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round in 2013.
The Puerto Rican couldn't face a tougher challenge to gain a surprise gold, as Kerber's confidence is her undoubted strength.
The German scooped the Aussie Open at the previous competition Down Under, and Serena Williams recently beat her in the final of Wimbledon after a strong tournament on grass.
Tennis writer Rene Denfeld hailed Kerber's consistent development as she becomes a modern champion in her sport:
Tennis Now highlighted the landmark for German tennis as Kerber chases glory in Rio:
Puig has burst on the scene at the 2016 Rio Games and will be unfamiliar to the casual sports fan following the Olympic event.
The tennis prodigy could claim her country's first-ever Olympic gold, according to AS, and Puig looked shocked as she prevailed in the semi-final.
She took to social media to express her delight:
Puig said after defeating Kvitova, per AS:
It would be unbelievable to win the gold and it would be the biggest honour in the world. But the Olympics isn't about me, it's about Puerto Rico and I know how bad they want this. 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. So this one is not for me.
Puig is assured of the silver medal, which would be a stunning achievement for a player who is yet to make a splash at a Grand Slam event.
However, any desire for gold is unlikely to come to fruition against a burgeoning superstar who has a knack of winning her toughest battles.
Kerber has the tactical game to make short work of her opponent in the final, and her wealth of experience accumulated in the past two years will serve her well.
Puig must not panic against the Germany representative, but she might struggle if Kerber immediately finds her rhythm from the opening game.
The Puerto Rico player has a puncher's chance of landing the gold medal on Saturday, but a defeat and silver will be no shame for the rising talent as she tries to make a name for herself.