Monica Puig gained a personal best at the Mutua Madrid Open Sunday. For the first time in her career playing at La Caja Magica, the Puerto Rican advanced out of the first round beating Zarina Diyas 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 on Pista Five. It was the first in five appearances that Puig managed to get out of the first round in what was a roller coaster day on court.
The two haven’t faced off in three years making things even for both of them. Puig last played in Monterrey where she lost in the quarterfinals taking time off to prep for the long runs in Europe. Diyas tried to bounce back from her round of sixteen loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Rabat but lost straight up to Sara Errani. With a new page to be written for both players it sets them on a course for a big challenge to whoever makes their mark clear on the clay courts.
Puig opened the match breaking Diyas whose second serve had a hiccup double faulting in the process. It remained an issue for the Kazak that affected the serve giving her opponent a sizable 3-0 margin. It turned into a runaway for the 24-year-old as she held back Diyas on serve in the fourth before deuce could be attained on the return. The need to snap the onslaught arrived for Diyas but not before she nearly blew a serve to love with two consecutive errors. A mistake from the Puerto Rican secured the first win for the Kazak in hopes of not being the last.
She consolidated a second win in a row breaking Puig where the first serve improved greatly. Diyas continued to circulate the wins to her name coming within a tie against Puig who racked up three double faults since her last victory. Her own second serve showed signs of struggle but battled on in the eighth attempting to recover lost ground. When it looked as if capturing the set was close at hand, the 24-year-old saw the errors creep back just enough to give Diyas a shot to even the set at five all.
Puig denied her that attempt reaching three set points before losing just one before her opponent smashed the ball into the net to complete the win and the set in 38 minutes. Puig’s first serve maintained a solid performance winning seven of nine with her second serve returns following the same path.
Knowing of the beating she took in the tail end of the set, Diyas put that aside holding Puig on serve. It lasted three games until the fourth where a long drawn out battle for control ended in favor of the Kazak who had a 3-1 lead over Puig. It was quickly 4-1 for Diyas who held in the fifth before a coaching call for Puig was necessary. The need for improvements were too little too late as Diyas reached a 5-2 hold playing for a third set to be played. It became a reality for the 24-year-old as she got the job done with a final break to end 39 minutes.
With the momentum changed for a second time in the match and Puig on the wrong end of it, she decided to change the pace and break Diyas to open the final set. The Kazak followed along on the path which Puig dictated holding off her opponent with a double break in the third. She gained a big lead for herself pushing back Diyas to 4-1. The margin was briefly cut in half before the Puerto Rican managed to get into position with a 5-2 hold. She ended the battles with Diyas getting the break needed to close out the match in 1 hour and 58 minutes.
With new ground on the horizon for the 24-year-old, she’ll try to outduel the competition between Petra Kvitova or Lesia Tsurenko in the second round.
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