Puig wins third straight against Stosur at Miami Open

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 21: Monica Puig of Puerto Rico in action against Samantha Stosur of Australia in their first round match during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2018 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Monica Puig was in fine form under the lights at the Miami Open Wednesday night. The hometown girl with many fans cheering her on got through a straight sets win against Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-4 on Stadium Court at Crandon Park Tennis Center. With the wind playing a factor, the Puerto Rican adjusted to the conditions and came out with a third straight match win over the Australian.

The two met for the seventh time and the second of the season with Puig holding a match win over her head at the Australian Open. The reigning Olympic champion went the distance against the Aussie to knock her out in the first round of the Grand Slam. It was Stosur’s second straight loss to the 24-year-old since 2016 and the first time going the distance against her. With a late-night match in play for the two, both Puig and Stosur would have the weather in favor to play their games evenly.

Puig came out to begin the match with a service hold before going off with an aggressive push to widen the gap. The Puerto Rican’s hard hitting got some of the balls to land long handing Stosur the win she needed. They remained on serve through three until the first break opportunity came at the hands of the hometown girl. The players played against the swirling wind that was on court with Stosur fighting for control on serve. She managed to do so followed by Puig picking up the pace with her show of offense dominating the Australian.

Despite the difficulty of breaking Puig, Stosur remained in tow of serving her own games out leading them to the late stages where a tide change could benefit. It went to Puig who had a majority of the crowd behind her, energizing their star on court. Stosur got under pressure and made the break happen with some errors that put the set at risk of ending with the Puerto Rican on serve.

She beat Stosur quickly with some big hits before laying down a net front volley to end the set with a two-set point winner completing it in 35 minutes. She had a great overall serve landing 13 of 18 on the first and seven of eight on the second. The Australian’s return game was dismal landing six of 26 total.

Stosur’s coach Joshua Eagle came out to keep his athlete hanging on and pump her up with some confidence to compete in the second set. The air came out of her after the conclusion of the first game that ended the longest rally of the match which awarded Puig the break. After losing another, Stosur got on the board avoiding Puig from getting a double break. Her push to bring some heat and pressure the 24-year-old to run around the court worked in the third sitting a game down.

The Aussie had her eyes on a break of Puig before a comeback ensued in the fourth. Puig landed back to back winners with the game point coming on a swing and a miss from Stosur that made it a 3-1 score. Stosur got a much-needed win for herself to keep Puig close and did so on a break in the sixth that made the set very interesting. Stosur was gaining momentum to pull into contention with Puig as she fought in the seventh. A big point for Puig turned the tide at the right time striking the AD point before winning it followed by a thunderous applause from the fans.

Another comeback on serve from the 24-year-old had her fighting against the wind while making what good shots she could deliver difficult for the Aussie to return. A long ball put Puig a game away from the match but Stosur still needed to serve to stay alive herself. Good serving in the ninth kept the situation stable with Puig attempting to serve the match on her own. She made it possible setting up two match points where it ended an eight-shot rally that put the ball into the net from Stosur for Puig to come out victorious in 1 hour and 24 minutes.  

“Today was an exceptionally difficult day to play,” Puig said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “It’s just key to make those necessary adjustments and to move with your feet and adjust with your serve and just kinda stay really focused because it can get away from you pretty quickly.”

She will face world number two Caroline Wozniacki in the next round with the hope of bringing the same level of power in her game. “Caroline and I have had tough matches in the past,” she said about Friday’s match. “I won some, she’s won some so I’m just really looking forward to playing another match in front of my home crowd and a tough one at that so I’m ready to go.”