Puig’s growth is certainly on display at this Miami Open, where with the help of a partisan crowd she polished off Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-3, 7-5 in the third-round.
This is a first for Puig in terms of securing a fourth-round berth at the Miami Open. In five previous appearances at Crandon Park she never journeyed past the second round.
The conclusion of the Sakkari match offered some frustration for Puig, who served for the match three times before she finished in dramatic fashion with an ace.
On Friday, Puig upset reigning Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. The second-seeded Wozniacki later complained on social media that her family members were threatened by fans while watching the late-night encounter.
Puig acknowledged seeing the comments but said she hasn’t discussed the situation with Wozniacki.
Puig will square off against 93rd-ranked American qualifier Danielle Collins, a native of St. Petersburg, in the next match with a quarterfinal slot the dangling prize.
Collins, a two-time NCAA champion out of the University of Virginia, where she graduated with a degree in media studies, outlasted Donna Vekic of Croatia 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Collins also did well at Indian Wells earlier this month with an upset of 15th-seeded fellow American Madison Keys en route to the fourth round.
“Nobody skyrockets to the top very fast, and the only difference is that most of the girls I’m competing against turned pro at 16,” Collins said. “I went a different route and went to college.
For Collins, a win over Puig, who she has known from junior events since she was 9 years old, would be monumental, But if Puig had a message ahead of the encounter it’s that she believes her Olympic vibe is returning.