Golden medalist Monica Puig defeated Maria Sharapova in a friendly invitational hosted by Puig on Thursday, December 15, 2016 in in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
23-year-old Puig won the match 6-3, 1-6 10-6.
In the first set, Puig won the first three games but Sharapova was able to break back. Puig broke again and took the set 6-3.
In the second set, Sharapova came firing. She played aggressive tennis, and made fewer errors than in the first set. She closed the set 6-1.
In the super tie-break, Puig got an early lead and was able to hold on to it, taking the match 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.
The players had a lot of one, where at one point Puig and a ball boy exchanged places.
The Puerto Rican native thanked Sharapova for “giving me the opportunity to know you …”
The Monica Puig Invitational was Puig’s homecoming after winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
This was Sharapova’s first singles match in nearly a year, since testing positive for meldonium.