Julia Goerges bows out to Klara Zakopalova in the quarter-finals – Open GDF Suez 2012
A stunning victory for the 51st ranked Czech competitor, Klara Zakopalova, was witnessed in the quarter-finals of the Open GDF Suez, as she ousted the world number 21, Julia Goerges of Germany, on Friday night. The unseeded
Czech took two hours and five minutes to register her second victory over Goerges to level the head-to-head series at 2-2. The final scores of the match were 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, for Zakopalova.
The sixth seed German has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and won her initial round matches in straight sets to assert her authority. She had a magnificent start in the opening set and got the upper hand in the match
early but tended to lose her focus in the sets to follow. A tremendous comeback from the unseeded Czech in the second set turned the course of the match and she went on to reel off the last two sets.
It was anticipated that Zakopalova might give some tough time to Goerges in the round of eight but such cracking defeat for the sixth seeded German was hardly expected. The last encounter between the two women took place in Seoul,
Korea, in 2010, with the Czech winning 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Goerges has turned into a far improved and accomplished after that loss and she was the hot favourite for the Friday’s matchup. All the hopes of tennis fans crashed when the German lost the final set with
a breadstick to end her voyage at the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event in Paris, France.
Goerges found easy pickings in the opening set, breaking her opponent in the second game and holding her remaining serves to close it out at 6-3. However, the Czech competitor came back strongly with two crushing serve breaks in
the second set and then two more in the decisive set to drive the German diva out of the tournament in surprise.
Zakopalova will take on the second seed home favourite, Marion Bartoli, in the semis of the Open GDF Suez on Saturday. The world number seven, Bartoli, went through some real tough channels in her quarter-final clash against the
seventh seed Italian, Roberta Vinci, on Friday night. She dropped the opening set to fall on her back foot early in the contest but displayed some amazing resilience to bag the next two sets to remain alive in the race to the championship title on her home
soil. Bartoli will have to go through Zakopalova in the semi-finals before she can earn a shot at the title on Sunday night.
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