Newly retired Anett Kontaveit beats ex-Olympic gold medalist in invitational event

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Anett Kontaveit, 27, defeated Monica Puig at the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters, an invitational tournament that features retired tennis stars. Kontaveit, a former world No 2, saw off 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Puig 6-4 6-4.

For Kontaveit, it was her first match since her pro tennis career came to an end after this year's Wimbledon due to a chronic back issue. "It felt a little strange. It took me some time to get used to being on-court. The match was very hard, and physically extremely demanding.

I tried to play as aggressively as I could, as I didn't want to let the rallies go on for too long. At the same time, I held back so as to avoid unforced errors," Kontaveit said after the match.

How Kontaveit beat Puig?

The first break of the match was seen in the third game, when Kontaveit broke Puig.

Down by a break, Puig responded by breaking back Kontaveit in the sixth game to tie the first set to three games apiece. In the 10th game of the first set - when Puig was serving to stay in the opener - Kontaveit broke the Puerto Rican to seal the first set.

In the second set, Kontaveit claimed the first break in the third game but Puig broke back immediately in the fourth game. After blowing an early second-set break, Kontaveit broke Puig again in the fifth game and that was enough for her to seal a two-set win.

Kontaveit, who stunningly retired at 27 this past summer, recently said she made "the right decision" because her back wasn't allowing her to meet the demands of pro tennis. "Of course, there are more things I could have still have achieved, but I know that when I was playing I gave 100 percent of myself.

I did everything as well as I could and so I know this was the right decision for me," Kontaveit said. Meanwhile, Kontaveit plays Lucie Safarova in the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters semifinal.