Agnieszka Radwanska is safely through to the 4th round after a roller-coaster ride of a match today on Margaret Court Arena against Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.
In their first ever meeting, it certainly looked like the hard hitting Puig was going to outhit her smaller Polish opponent into submission right from the start. Radwanska, who is not known for her power, does demonstrate tremendous knee bend to get down low on her groundstrokes, always balanced and poised as she chased down balls in the opening set. For her game plan, Puig went for her shots, constantly applying pressure to the 4th seed. It was quite a precarious battle of raw power executed vs. calculated finesse. Each rally was intense, every point was arduous, and the service game going to deuces. Both players refused to give up ground, literally and figuratively as they continued to hold serve. At 3-3 in the 7th game however, Monica finally secured 2 break point chances, and quickly took advantage to secure the break 4-3. The power game from the unseeded player was speeding its way up the roller-coaster. But just as quickly, she came to a turn on the ride, where she missed an overhead badly to give Radwanska break point. The higher ranked player was just as quick to convert as well, leveling the set for 4-4. The very next game Radwanska had to wind her way out of 2 more break points, first with a wide angled volley winner followed by a wide serve from the ad side to open up the court for a crosscourt winner. 5-4 on serve. The roller-coaster ride looked far from over. But Puig quickly faced break points of her own. She blasted a crosscourt winner to save the first set point. But her power game was ill suited for overheads, as she gingerly hit one right at Radwanska, who then popped it up with a forehand slice into the open court to bring the ride to a screeching halt. 6-4 first set.
The 2nd set was prefaced with a medical timeout by Radwanska for her left foot. As the ride then began its 2nd lap, the momentum turned completely in her favor as she held the first service game easily. As if wanting off the train, Puig missed a forehand long to give @ARadwanska the early break. Whether or not the timeout made a difference, Radwanska was now in the driver’s seat. To be more accurate however, this was due to Puig’s inability to maintain her power game. Whereas she kept the majority of her powerful shots inside the line for the first set, the unforced errors started piling up. It didn’t help that Radwanska showcased her talent with dropshots and sharp angles at the net. At 3-0, Puig hit yet another forehand long to gift away the game for 4-0. Now, each rally was less intense, every point was easy, and the service game going to love. Radwanska found herself coasting smoothly off Puig’s constant errors. In the 6th game, Monica finally leapt off the train to have a bagel. The 2nd set lasted only half as long as the first.
In the post match interview, the issue with Radwanska’s foot was mentioned, to which she declared to the crowd “A lot of running, a lot of tennis….I think pain is my 2nd name”. She will face Friedsam in the next round, who upset 13th seed Roberta Vinci. For Monica Puig, she has had a powerful run down under. Next for her is Fed Cup, where she will be around familiar faces such as Captain Juan Carlos Escudero.
