Julia Goerges outplays Samantha Stosur in the semi-final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The crowd at Stuttgart, Germany erupted in sheer joy as the local girl Julia Goerges stung a surprise victory over the world number seven, Samantha Stosur of Australia in the semi-final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, being played
at the Porsche Tennis Arena on Saturday. The 32nd ranked German concluded victory 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, after battling out for two hours and sixteen minutes to reach the final of the $721,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
The unseeded German registered her 14th victory of the current year and the second consecutive one over Stosur at Stuttgart. Goerges had previously defeated the Australian number one 7-5, 6-3, last year at Tokyo and
has now extended her head-to-head lead against Stosur to 2-0. The Aussie has won two of her most recent matches at Stuttgart in the third sets but couldn’t repeat the same feat this time round. She bagged the second set assertively after dropping the opener
and then lost the final set to her opponent pass into the final of the tournament.
“I really didn't expect this,” reflected Goerges after her victory, “I believe in myself against the top players. If I didn’t, I don’t think I should be going onto the court. Before I would be standing on the court and thinking,
‘Whoops, there’s a top player in front of me, what am I doing here?’ A few months ago it changed. I’ve played some big players on some big courts, and I think it has really helped me in the long run.”
Goerges’ precise serve and mighty forehand proved to be the critical success factor for her in the game, as she fired seven aces to no double faults in the matchup. Stosur had seven break opportunities in the game but she squandered
away four of those to remain at a disadvantage. Her sloppy start cost her opener but she made a strong comeback in the following set, showing her vintage class and clinching the set 6-3 by striking two serve breaks.
It all came down to the decisive third set of the match and some intense tennis play was witnessed. Stosur serve brilliantly with 84 per cent precision but could only grab 18 of 32 points on it, in contrast to Goerges who won 17
of 19 first serve points in the third set. Two serve breaks were registered by the German as she closed the contest at 7-5 to route out Stosur from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Goerges will be taking on the world number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final at Stuttgart on Sunday. Wozniacki outclassed the world number 14 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis to feature in her fourth WTA final of the
year.
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