Puerto Rican Monica Puig is eyeing a career-first WTA title and has her sights set on claiming the 2014 Hobart International.
Puig, 20, had a breakthrough year in 2013. She stormed into the top 100 on the back of a third round appearance at the French Open and followed it with a fourth round run at Wimbledon. It propelled her to a year-end ranking of 55.
Wins over top 10 player Sara Errani and former top 10 players Francesca Schiavone and Nadia Petrova last season further thrust Puig into the tennis spotlight. Yet her rapid rise and the consequent expectations that now exist as Puig begins a new season are not fazing her.
“The pressure is always there, but now because you are under the public eye and everybody is looking at you and your results, obviously there is a bit more pressure,” she said.
Puig is drawing inspiration from a tennis legend on these new pressures.
“Like Billie Jean King said a long time ago, pressure is a privilege,” she said. “It’s always going to be there and little by little, you get better at learning how to manage it.”
Puig, now the top-ranked Latin American player, is taking it all in her stride and has set her goals even higher for 2014.
“(2013) was a very positive year with a lot of great experiences for me,” she said. “This year I’d really like to win my first WTA event. I am not setting any ranking goals, but obviously the more matches you win the higher your ranking gets. If think if I set my sights high enough to win a WTA event, then the ranking will follow.”
In the past the Hobart International has been a happy hunting ground for players on the rise. Wimbledon champion and current world no.6 Petra Kvitova won her first WTA title in Hobart in 2009, while last year’s champion Russian Elena Vesnina went on to have a career-best year after her maiden title run at the tournament.
It is going to a challenge for Puig to follow in their footsteps. She is competing against one of the strongest fields ever assembled at the tournament and has also been dealt a tough draw. Vesnina, the no. 3 seed, awaits her in round one.
Puig started her 2014 season in Auckland, where she lost in two close sets to world no. 20 Kirsten Flipkens in the first round.
“Last week I was just getting my feet wet again and trying to get back into it. I played a good match against Flipkens and now that first match jitters are out of the way, I’m looking to really break some ground at the beginning of the year,” she said.
While her focus is on tournament success, Puig took some time out to visit the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Hobart, where she spent some time getting up close and personal with native Australian animals.
“It’s a chance to do something different. You don’t usually get a lot of time during a tournament to explore,” the newly-confessed kangaroo lover said.
> View a photo gallery of Puig’s visit to the wildlife sanctuary
After Hobart, Puig is looking forward to making her main draw debut at the Australian Open. She was a junior girl’s singles finalist at Melbourne Park in 2011, but lost in women’s qualifying in her last two visits.
“I’m really excited. It was my first grand slam final as a junior, so Australia always has a special place in my heart. It’s one of my favourite countries and I’m really looking forward to playing my first main draw at that grand slam and hopefully having a good Aussie Open,” she said.
> Take a look at the singles draw
Want to see Puig challenge the defending champion? Tickets for the 2014 Hobart International are still on sale and can be purchased by visiting ticketek.com.au.