Rising Teen Star Monica Puig Serves Upset At Wimbledon 2013

Monica Puig served up a big upset at the All England Club on Monday when she defeated  fifth-seeded Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2.

The 19-year-old from Puerto Rico made her Grand Slam debut this year at the French Open where she became the first woman tennis player from Puerto Rico to reach the third round.

The win is even more impressive when we take into consideration that Errani reached the semifinals or better at three of the last five Grand Slams. Last week, Errani withdrew from her grass-court warm-up at Eastbourne after suffering a leg injury.

After the match Errani admitted that she still needs work on grass courts. “My biggest problem is movement, in the sense that I’m worried I’m going to hurt myself,” she said. “I’m afraid to run. And I don’t have strokes that can hurt an opponent on the grass. I don’t think I played disastrously. But she played better.”

When speaking about Wimbledon Puig revealed:

“I just think it’s so elegant. All the green courts with the white, it’s so special. It’s the only Grand Slam that does that, so it’s just a wonderful tournament.”

Currently ranked 65th in the world, it was a brilliant run at the French Open that has given Puig her current Wimbledon confidence and stride. Puig says of her quickly gained experience:

“Mentally, physically it just all comes together. Before this year, I had a really tough loss to (Angelique) Kerber in Brisbane and wasn’t able to close that one out. But obviously losing that match was probably one of the best lessons for me because I ended up learning from it and closed off some pretty big matches.”

Puig tells ABC News that she is drawing much of her inspiration from her idols:

“Serena is starting to become the most consistent player, in my opinion, on the tour, so obviously I try to use her as an example on the court, the way she conducts herself and just the aura that she brings onto the court.”

Are you surprised by Monica Puig’s win against Sara Errani at Wimbledon 2013?