Monica Puig got the job done to be victorious in the opening round at the French Open. The Olympic gold medalist dug in against Roberta Vinci went on to a battling three setter that she took 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on Court Two on the grounds of Roland Garros Sunday.
The Italian carried a two-match winning streak against the reigning Olympic gold medalist with one having occurred on the clay courts. Vinci took a three-set win in 2015 against the 23-year-old in their first meet. Puig went to the third-round last year at Roland Garros making it something to build on going into the year’s second grand slam. Her runs on the clay surface haven’t panned out too much but the hope of taking down Vinci who hadn’t done well herself so far gave her an even chance to pull out a win.
She opened with an opening serve that Vinci already showed troubles with her forehand that killed her chance for a break. It was struggling for her on her opening serve but putting in work on deuce allowed her to stay together and keep the pace early. They stayed together through four but after Puig took the fifth, she ran away with the opening break and took a 5-2 lead for the chance at a set. Vinci didn’t want to end the set early and picked up her last shot in the eighth before Puig dug in and secured her way to taking a hold of the match. She pulled off a love service in the ninth that saw her record her third ace against Vinci completing 32 minutes of play.
Vinci took point in the second set and knew that a push would be the start to dictating better against Puig. She carried a 2-0 score before the Puerto Rican got on the board in the third for the break. It wasn’t enough to change the pace of the Italian as she grew her margin to three games over the 23-year-old that seemed to be enough. Vinci gave up two games but locked in a tie after 34 minutes making it anyone’s to win going into the third.
Puig answered to start and watched Vinci do the same in the second. With the pace being set, it came down to who would blink first and who would be able to take control. With a statement in the third, it was Puig who was intent on finishing strong to make her spot in the second as secure as possible. She went on to grow a 4-1 rout and keep her way to a two-game spread that pressured Vinci to fall and lose in the eighth handing a strong finish to the 23-year-old.
Despite having much more unforced errors than her Italian counterpart, Puig’s first serve was at a position that helped carry her struggling return percentage and get her into the round of 64. It took her 1 hour and 50 minutes to get it done but in grand slams, the first round is always the hardest no matter who you play. She’ll brush off the dust and face Jelena Ostapenko who saw her way out of a three setter against Louisa Chirico.
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