Tag Archives: Sloane Stephens

Garcia: The Unofficial MVP During France’s Fed Cup Matches Against the United States

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Caroline Garcia is having a banner year… And, she’s got this week’s Fed Cup results to prove it.

The 20-year-old half-Spanish tennis player almost singlehandedly led France to a 3-2 upset of the United States in the international Fed Cup competition on Sunday.

Caroline Garcia

Garcia had a hand in all three of her country’s victories. She beat the USA’s Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens in singles matches early in the meet before joining teammate Virginie Razzano to win the decisive doubles match.

“I’m not sure what I’m doing differently,” she said. “I don’t know. I guess it’s working, so I’ll try to keep doing it, whatever it is.”

France qualified for the World Group in 2015 and will compete for the Fed Cup championship.

The USA is relegated to World Group II for next year.

Garcia and Razzano beat Stephens and Keys 6-2, 7-5 in the fifth and deciding match of the best-of-five, two-day competition held at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University.

Garcia, ranked 51st in the world, came from out of nowhere to capture her first WTA championships in winning both the singles and double titles in the Claro Open Colsanitas in Bogota, Columbia, on April 13.

She carried the momentum from those victories into the Fed Cup.

“She was totally amazing, unbelievable,” France captain Amelie Mauresmo said. “She really rose to the occasion and was fearless.”

Garcia and Razzano used a pair of nifty passing shots to break Stephens’ serve in the 11th game of the second set. The pair won the lengthy 14-point game to take a 6-5 lead. Razzano then served out the match.

Garcia began her run by beating Stephens 6-3, 6-2 in the opening match on Saturday.

“She was the star of the weekend,” USA captain Mary Jo Fernandez said. “I never thought that she got nervous in any of the matches. She’s really aggressive and it’s all coming together.”

France played Sunday without its top player, Alize Cornet, who suffered a groin injury in a three-set loss to Keys on Saturday.

Fernandez took a chance on using Keys and Stephens in the series-deciding doubles match. The duo of Lauren Davis and Christina McHalewas originally slated to play.

But Fernandez chose to go with the two singles players even though they were coming off tough matches earlier in the day. Keys had just 35 minutes of rest after her loss to Garcia.

“I was trying to go with the players that had big weapons and (could) impose their game on the French,” Fernandez said.

Said Keys: “Not very often do you finish a match and go out again (35) minutes later. I was a little bit more tired.”

Puig’s Impressive Run at Wimbledon Ends Against Sloane Stephens

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The clock has struck twelve for Monica Puig…

The 19-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player’s Cinderella run at Wimbledon came to an end at the hands of another young tennis star.

Monica Puig

Sloane Stephens, the last American singles player still in the hunt at the All England Club, advanced to the quarterfinals on Monday by beating Puig 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

It was a hard-fought 2-hour, 4-minute match on Court 18.

“Just knowing that I am a good tennis player. I’m top-20 in the world for a reason. I didn’t, like, all of a sudden, snap my fingers and I got good,” Stephens said. “I put in a lot of work. (It) took a lot of sweat (and), like, ‘bad hair’ days, all that other stuff, to get to where I was. I realize that I just couldn’t let that go to waste. I had to get back to work.”

Despite the loss, Puig still has plenty of reason to be proud.

Competing at Wimbledon for the first time in her professional career, she pulled off an upset win over No. 5 seed Sara Errani in the first round. She then beat Spain’s Silvia Soler Espinosa in the second round and Eva Birnerova in the third round.

Puig, the first woman in the Open era to represent Puerto Rico in the fourth round, surpassed her best performance in a Grand Slam at the All England Club. She’d previously reached the third round at this year’s French Open.

Puig Survives Gruelling Match to Reach the Fourth Round at Wimbledon

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Monica Puig’s Cinderella run at Wimbledon continues…

The 19-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player, who started her run at the sport’s most prestigious tournament with a surprising upset of No. 5 seed Sara Errani, rallied to beat Czech qualifier Eva Birnerova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday, to reach the fourth round at the All England Club.

Monica Puig

The first set was domintaed by the Birnerova, who won 79% of the first-serve points and converted 2/4 break points, to win the opening set in 51 minutes.

But Puig came back strong to capture the second set in 42 minutes.

Both women looked firm on their serve in the deciding set. But Puig produced some sensational shots in the middle, which helped her steal a break, and eventually went on to take the third in 42 minutes.

Competing in her first Wimbledon, Puig has now surpassed her best performance in a Grand Slam with Saturday’s grueling win. She’d previously reached the third round at the French Open.

Puig, the first woman in the Open era to represent Puerto Rico at this stage, now faces American Sloane Stephens in the fourth round.

“She’s 17 in the world and she’s earned that spot so a lot of respect for her,” said Puig. “I haven’t really seen her play too much, it’s something I’ll have to go back to the drawing board tomorrow and just enjoy the day today.”

Puig is ranked No. 65 in the world.