BREAKING - August 13, 2016 - 7:11 p.m. ET: Monica Puig becomes the first-ever Olympic gold medalist from Puerto Rico as she beat Angelique Kerber in the tennis finals at Rio.

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Puerto Rican-Cuban tennis player Monica Puig showed the resilience of "Pica Power" on Monday, advancing to the second round of the U.S. Open for the first time in her career.

The young tennis star, currently ranked 69th in the world, had to come back after going down to Czech Republic's Tereza Smitková 6-3 in the first set before willing herself to victory, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first day of U.S. Open action.

"I knew I was in control of the match when I was serving more steady in the second set," said Puig to Latin Post after the match. "I had more control, holding her off a little easier. The turning point was when I got that break in the second set. She started serving a little less intense, so I saw my opportunity to pounce on her really quick. And then again, in the second set, getting that break really early and finding my way and just trying to focus really well on my serve because at the end of the day, when you have a break, all you really need to do is keep holding your serve."

Puig kept true to her philosophy of "Pica Power," a mantra that is also a hashtag she uses on her Twitter account, to wear down Smitková in the sweltering New York City heat.

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"It was something that I came up about a year and half ago," said Puig regarding how she came up with the name. "It's like picking away at a stone until it's perfect. 'Picar' in Spanish means picking away at it, so I just abbreviated it, and 'power' just seemed to go with it. It just flowed."

Much like Puerto Rican boxers such as Miguel Cotto, Puig certainly had the partisan New York City crowd loudly behind her Monday afternoon, cheering her on as she chipped away at Smitková's lead, in what seemed to be a home-crowd for the 20-year-old budding tennis player.

"Even though I haven't done particularly well here in the past few years, there's always been a full crowd when I'm playing and it's usually Puerto Rican," said Puig. "It just feels so good to be in mini-Puerto Rico when you are playing here, lots of fans and just an amazing atmosphere."

Puig credits a large portion of her 2014 success to her new coach António van Grichen -- who previously worked with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, winning her first Women's Association Tennis (WTA) title this year, beating Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain in the 2014 Internationaux de Strasbourg, France in May.

"I changed coaches and I won my first title with him," said Puig. "Obviously, I have to adjust to transforming into this new player I am becoming. We are changing a lot of things. I have a long career ahead of me. I don't have to be 'there' now. I want to learn as much as possible."

Puig's hard work is starting to pay off, as she starts making her way up the rankings, slowly attracting not just bigger crowds in the stands, but also attaining better business opportunities. She recently signed a deal with American Express, who have featured her on a billboard greeting fans headed to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on the 7-train in New York City.

"Just to see myself on those banners and see many people tag me in pictures, it's just amazing knowing that they want to use me as one of their candidates for sponsorship," said Puig. "I'm still up-and-coming. I'm still trying to get my feet wet here. I'm just trying to come about and to be one of the top figures for American Express, it's really a good deal."

But the time to celebrate her first victory is short, with a second round match-up against German Andrea Petkovic up next for Puig, who she last faced and defeated the 2014 Internationaux de Strasbourg earlier this year.

"It's going to be a tight game. She also had a tough [first round] game where she had to fight hard and she won," said Puig. "We're both fighting for the same thing. What matters now is the next game. I get a day of rest, to work on what I need to improve on for the next game ahead."

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