Olympic champ eyes Melbourne breakout

Puerto Rico's Puig quietly confident she can regain giant-killer reputation

Monica Puig would never trade her surprise singles gold at the Rio Games for any Grand Slam success, but Puerto Rico's first Olympic champion felt compelled to lock the medal away amid the lean period that followed her greatest triumph.

She wore the medal with pride for a while, most notably during a hero's homecoming through the streets of San Juan, where thousands of residents in the US territory's capital roared as she rolled by in a grand parade.

But the party was over in New York three weeks later when she lost in the opening round of the US Open.

Puig, who upset an honor roll of Grand Slam champions in Rio, was humbled in straight sets by China's 61st-ranked Zheng Saisai.

After Rio, the Puerto Rican lost in the first round of four of her next six tournaments, including Brisbane and Sydney to open the new year, so it was a huge relief when she reached the second round of the Australian Open on Monday.

"The medal is in a safe in my house now," the 23-year-old said after her 6-0 6-1 demolition of Romania's Patricia Maria Tig.

"I carried it around for a good while last year and all of a sudden I didn't really want to spoil the feeling of looking at it and just being in awe of it.

"So every now and then when I need a little bit of a boost I go and look at it and know it wasn't a dream, it was real."

By any measure, Rio was a fairytale for Puig.

After thrashing French Open champ Garbine Muguruza, she beat two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and felled current world No 1 Angelique Kerber in the gold medal final.

No special treatment

Puig was afforded no special treatment by tournament organizers in Melbourne, however, with her opener playing out on far-flung Court 14.

She was nonetheless heartened by Spanish cheers from "about three" Puerto Rican fans in the tiny crowd.

"It doesn't matter, really, on which court I play; I'm always going to bring my A-game wherever I play," said the 29th seed, who next faces Germany's Mona Barthel.

"Sometimes playing on those courts on the outside, for a first round or something, there's a lot of jitters, so it settles you a bit and you feel like it's your own little domain.

"I really don't mind. I don't care if I don't play on the big courts, I just know that whenever it's my time to play there I'll soak it up."

Regaining her giant-killer reputation might take some time, but she takes comfort in knowing she has the game to do so.

"I didn't really know how to handle the (Olympic) success because it came at a time when I wasn't really ready for it and it just sort of happened," Puig said.

"Definitely there was a lot of fatigue and a lot of mental stress.

"I was learning how to deal with this for the first time and I had to kind of be a little bit lenient on myself and say, 'OK, learn from this experience and next time I'll know what to do'.

"So I know what I'm capable of accomplishing, I know what I can do. I've just got to go out there and do it."

While focused on the here and now, Puig looks forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the idea of becoming the first woman to defend an Olympic title.

"Andy Murray did it," she said of the men's world No 1, who won golds for Britain at London and Rio.

"If he can do it, I think I can do it as well.

"I always seem to elevate my level whenever I have my country's colors on my back. I'm just hoping for a couple of successful years until that chance to win at the Olympics again."

Almagro's quick exit draws scrutiny

Spain's Nicolas Almagro vehemently denied suggestions of a money-grab after he lasted just 23 minutes at the Australian Open before retiring on Monday.

Trailing 4-0 in the first set against France's Jeremy Chardy, Almagro threw in the towel after claiming a calf injury but still pocketed $37,400 as a first-round loser.

Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge, a TV commentator, ignited a debate when he said: "Questions need to be asked. Did (Almagro) just show up to take money?"

But according to the Melbourne Herald Sun, Almagro insisted: "I went to the court because I thought I could play. I was in the top 10, I have more than $10 million. I'm not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason.

"I was trying to play during the week. It was tough. I did an MRI (scan) and the result wasn't good.

"That's it. I couldn't play. I felt the problem again on court and I had to retire.

"I considered (withdrawing) but when I was practicing, I didn't feel it during the week. So I decided to try to play today."

Monica Puig of Puerto Rico hits a return against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania during their first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday. Greg Wood / Agence Francepresse