Olympics / Team USA Murray, Puig Win Tennis Gold in Rio by Ricardo Goodridge August 16, 2016 Monica Puig (BERND THISSEN / EPA) Andy Murray of Great Britain became the first player, male or female, to defend a gold medal in singles tennis. Murray who just won Wimbledon for the second time, a month ago, defeated surprise silver medalist, Juan Martin Del Porto in four thrilling sets (7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5). In the women’s side Monica Puig, of Puerto Rico, shocked the world by defeating the second highest ranked female tennis player in the world, German, Angelique Kerber (6-4, 4-6, 6-1). Kerber was the heavy favorite going into the match against Monica Puig. Before winning the gold medal, Puig had only won one small tournament on the WTA field. By winning the gold, Puig had to defeat grand slam champions Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitová, and Angelique Kerber. With her gold medal victory Puig became the first Puerto Rican to win a gold medal in any sport. It was a topsy-turvy Olympics for tennis. With top seeds Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic both going out early, the door was wide open for many to come through. Rafael Nadal, who hadn’t played since pulling out of the French Open, made a good run to the semis but in the end lost an instant classic three set match to Del Porto (5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5)). Del Porto, who has played sparingly because of a persistent wrist injury, took out Novak and was able to walk away with a silver medal. All was not lost for Rafa either. Despite losing to Japan’s Kei Nishikori for the bronze, Nadal was able to take home the doubles gold with partner Marc Lopez. Also worth noting was the all American mixed doubles gold medal finals. Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram to win the gold. This was the first time in decades that there was an all American final in tennis. After a quick exit in the singles, Jack went on to win the bronze medal in doubles with Steve Johnson. For Venus, who had a disappointing showing in singles and women’s doubles, it was a late decision to play mixed. With winning the silver medal, Venus broke the tie with sister Serena at four medals (gold) and took home her fifth Olympic medal. Post Views: 1,634 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Ricardo Goodridge Ricardo is the lead Tennis Analyst here at DoubleGSports.com Latest posts by Ricardo Goodridge (see all) What we learned from the 2018 U.S. Open - September 11, 2018 Three Things to Look for at the 2018 U.S. Open - August 27, 2018 Empire Win Final Match of the Season - August 3, 2018 Empire Continues Losing Streak Against Breakers - July 27, 2018 Related Topicsandy murrayAngelique KerberJuan Martin Del PortoMonica Puignovak djokovicRio OlympicsSerena Williams Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Michael Jordan Could Change the Future of Nascar for the Better by Inesh Chari | posted on March 30, 2021 WNBA Rolling Out Red Carpet For Upcoming 25th Anniversary Season by Jason Cordner | posted on March 16, 2021 More in Olympics / Team USA Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics The 2021 Summer Olympic games are scheduled to take place from July 23 –... You Know I’m Right, Episode 94: Olympic Gold Medalist Lilly King (Audio/Video) On the 94th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst was joined by olympic... The Tokyo 2021 Olympics Will Feature New Amazing Sports Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate, baseball and softball will compete at the Summer Olympics. You Know I’m Right, Episode 82: NBC’s Mary Carillo (Audio/Video) On the 82nd episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Hastings, Francis, Among Locals in Track & Field Sydney McLaughlin Eliminated in 400m hurdles; Muhammed to Finals