Third-seeded Spaniard and reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza was sent crashing out after suffering a 6-1, 6-1 defeat in the third round at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the hands of Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, who is currently in the midst of a career-best season.
Competing in her first Olympic Games, Puig has looked mightily impressive, and will look to stay in medal contention when she takes on Germany’s Laura Siegemund Wednesday.
Puig Pummels Muguruza to Secure First Set
Straight away, it was clear that this match would be won or lost in the unforced errors column. While both players might have been looking to get that first strike in these heavy-hitting exchanges from the back of the court, this contest would be decided by who is consistently able to get that first say from the back of the court, while keeping errors to an absolute minimum.
After an early exchange of holds, it was Puig who would take advantage of an early lapse in concentration for the Spaniard to break, before consolidating to build a commanding 4-1 lead. Once there, the Puerto Rican wasted no time in securing the insurance break as Muguruza struggled to find any sort of rhythm after a comfortable start, before eventually backing it up in the seventh game, saving a break point before finally converting her third set point to clinch the opening set, 6-1, in just over half an hour.
Pitiless Puig Powers into Quarterfinals
Continuing right where she left off, Puig took full advantage of another lapse in concentration for the Spaniard, coming back from 40-0 down to break in the opening game, and move a set and a break to the good. In serious danger of being eliminated early, Muguruza made a conscious effort to get back on level terms, doing so with some fierce hitting, one of her few bright spots in this match.
However, showing great maturity, Puig was quick to reestablish her early advantage, breaking once more before making no mistake in consolidating the break the second time around, doing so with the help of some huge serving and blistering forehands to take a commanding 3-1 lead. With the help of her thunderous groundstrokes and tireless line-to-line defence, the Puerto Rican powered through another return game to secure the double break, leaving a bewildered Muguruza with plenty to think about at the change of ends.
Mercilessly, the world number 34 showed no signs of slowing down, motoring her way to another relatively comfortable hold to move within one game of the biggest victory of her young career. While a dejected-looking Muguruza made a final effort to register another game on the scoreboard, it proved to be all in vain as Puig sealed the deal not long thereafter; a netted backhand from the third-seeded Spaniard—her 29th unforced error of the match—securing Puig a thoroughly impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Puig to Meet Siegemund for a Place in Final Four
Looking to keep her medal hopes alive for a nation where she is just the fifth player to qualify in this discipline, the Puerto Rican will meet Germany’s Laura Siegemund for a spot in the semifinals.
Siegemund, who is enjoying a career-best season herself, hasn’t had the easiest of roads to this stage of her career, but she is certainly relishing the moment. After losing the first set in her opening round match against Tsvetana Pironkova, the German has looked mightily impressive, and could be considered as a dark horse for a medal in Rio.
This will be the pair’s first meeting as the power of Puig will go up against the varietal prowess of Siegemund, which guarantees for some thrilling, high-quality exchanges from the back of the court.