Monica Puig vs. Angelique Kerber: Olympic Tennis Women's Final Score, Reaction
Monica Puig finished her Cinderella run at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, beating Angelique Kerber in three sets to win the gold medal in the women's singles tennis tournament, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
The two were evenly matched throughout the first set, but Kerber started to limp toward the end of the set and requested a lengthy medical timeout after Puig took the lead. The German star recovered, however, breaking early in the second set and eventually forcing a decider.
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In that decider, Puig dominated from start to finish, becoming the first athlete from Puerto Rico to win a gold medal.
The two started their final behind schedule because of the long men's semi-final match between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro, but BBC 5 Live's David Law thought Puig's backstory was at least as good as that of Del Potro:
The underdog couldn't keep her serve in the opening game, but any signs of nerves evaporated quickly when she broke back and overpowered Kerber in the third game. The German responded with much of the same on her own serve as the match got off to a fantastic start.
Puig had the advantage in the rallies, placing her shots with accuracy and keeping Kerber moving. With the crowd on her side, she had another break chance in the sixth game, but Kerber kept her cool and averted the danger with her serve.
The two remained evenly matched, barely giving any space to the other during the first set. Live Tennis loved it:
"#Kerber saves break point to hold for 3-3. Excellent contest so far, #Puig really going after it. pic.twitter.com/J8mekjgJV8
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) August 13, 2016"
Kerber had to serve to stay alive in the set, down 5-4 at a time when Puig appeared to be surging, and the underdog powered her way to a quick 30-0 advantage. Taking plenty of risks, she then earned two break points as Kerber fired a forehand well over the back line, and a lucky shot that clipped the net gave Puig the first set.
Per tennis writer Jake Davies, she was on the way to making history:
Live Tennis noted Kerber appeared to be limping earlier, however, and the trainer did come out for some treatment as soon as the two walked off the court:
"Seems #Kerber might have a foot problem? Pulling up weirdly on some shots. #Puig holds for 5-4, still impressive. pic.twitter.com/FyVnX3ADi5
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) August 13, 2016"
Kerber returned in time and seemed to have regained some mobility as well. She immediately earned three break chances, converting the second to grab the momentum.
Back-to-back aces saw her hold serve, and more break chances followed in the next game. The short delay bothered Puig, who had been forced to wait while Kerber received treatment.
Actress Rosie Perez couldn't contain herself:
Puig held, but Kerber's serve was clicking. And Puig didn't seem to be capable of finding another break in the second set. She went close in the sixth game, forcing deuce, but Kerber showed her class when needed, again using her serve to work her way out of trouble.
Two games later, she earned two break points, and she only needed the first, as Kerber put a routine volley into the net.
Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times started getting excited:
Kerber found more break chances in the next game, with Puig gifting her an opportunity with a double-fault, and with a fantastic backhand, she broke back and set up a service game to take the final to a third set.
Puig took care of four set points, throwing her full weight behind every groundstroke, but the fifth proved to be decisive as Kerber pulled level with her opponent.
Former professional tennis player Anne Keothavong was glued to the screen:
Puig started the third set with a hold for love and immediately grabbed a break in the next game. The Puerto Rican starlet took a nasty spill in the third game, but the fall didn't seem to bother her as she held to move ahead 3-0.
The drama didn't end there. Kerber double-faulted on game point and lost a challenge in the fourth game. Puig took full advantage, grabbing yet another break to move closer to the title.
Kerber still wouldn't give up, however. She finally halted Puig's run in the sixth game and earned three break chances in the next, with her opponent serving for the match. Puig dealt with the first two before Kerber missed another easy smash, firing it into the net to take the score to deuce.
The fourth break chance didn't yield any results, either, but neither did Puig's second match ball, as a wacky rally at the net saw Kerber tie the game again. A third match ball bounced off the net and landed on the right side for Kerber, and a double-fault gave her another break chance. But once again, Puig tied things up with a drop shot.
The fourth match ball proved to be the clincher as Kerber fired a forehand wide to bring an end to the contest.
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