Representing Puerto Rico, tennis player Monica Puig was aiming for gold at the Pan American Games. Puig recently lost to U.S. player Irina Falconi by a score of 6-3, 6-2, which awarded the 18 year old a silver medal. Not shabby! Here are excerpts from the latest reports:

The defeat before Falconi concluded an outstanding performance in Guadalajara for Puig, who took home the silver medal despite being classified seventh in the tournament. Along the way, she eliminated two rivals of a higher classification, including the first in line, Christina McHale, in the semifinals. But the Puerto Rican player was only thinking of gold yesterday [Thursday, October 20, 2011]. “I did what I could but it didn’t happen. But I will continue training hard because I am going for big things,” said a tearful Puig at press conference.

The match yesterday was frustrating for Puig, who did not have many options facing the number two classified player, Falconi. [Puig] took 3-1 advantage in the first set, but Falconi responded with five consecutive plays to take the set at 6-3. Already by the second, the frustration began to seize the Boricua player, who did not recover since Falconi broke her serve to take the lead with a 3-2, taking control over the game. The two lost sets were Puig’s first in the entire tournament.

Puig’s coach Alain de Vos assessed, “I think the semi-final (against McHale) was pretty difficult mentally, and then doing it again takes a lot of hard work. I believe that Monica felt a bit pressured in trying to do well and the American player did not leave many options open. The second set was, in my opinion, more of a state of mind than anything else.”

After the match, Puig received a warm ovation from the audience in the Telcel stadium, who supported her through the entire tournament. “The audience was always supporting me and made me feel at home. [. . .] The audience tried to push me [to succeed], but I was not able to give them the satisfaction that I gave them during the rest of the tournament,” said Puig, who dedicated the silver medal to her maternal grandmother, Astrid Puras Marchán, who had been hospitalized for the past few days.

[. . .] “To obtain a silver medal is very important for [Puerto Rico]. I am very happy to return to my country with the medal to celebrate with my friends and family” said Puig.

For full articles (in Spanish), see http://www.primerahora.com/monicapuighiceloquepudeynosalio-569974.html and http://www.elnuevodia.com/monicapuigganamedalladeplataenlospanamericanos-1099485.html