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Monica Puig

A year after winning gold in Rio, Monica Puig still relives special moment

Katherine Fitzgerald
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Monica Puig became the first Puerto Rican athlete to win gold in any sport at the Olympics last summer. Her breakthrough performance came as she took down No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany in the final.

In a file photo from Aug. 13, 2016, Monica Puig celebrates with her gold medal after defeating Angelique Kerber during the women's singles gold medal match in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

“Part of me wants to move on and focus on the bigger things that I have in front of me and what I want to tackle next, but another part of me just wants to relive that moment,” the San Juan native said recently at the Citi Open.

“It’s tough for me to go back and try to reminisce, and to really strongly connect with those emotions and those sensations that I felt on that day ... but I know that that honestly was my biggest goal and my biggest dream in tennis.”

Just 23 years old, Puig was overjoyed to have accomplished this dream so quickly. Now, she’s focusing on winning a Grand Slam. Currently ranked No. 67 on the WTA Tour, she won her sole tour title in 2014.

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Though some athletes may find the bustle of the Games to be overwhelming, Puig saw a benefit.

“I was more relaxed. I was definitely enjoying the moment a lot more because when I would finish my matches and I would go back to the village, it was a complete disconnect from tennis actually was and what my routine was,” she said.

“It didn’t really give me enough time to put pressures or unnecessary never on myself.”

Puig was also the first Latin American player to win the women’s singles tournament and the first female unseeded player to win since tennis returned to the Games in 1988. In November, the Association of National Olympic Committees awarded her best female athlete of the Games for her accomplishments in Rio.

 

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