Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Samantha Stosur vs. Julia Goerges – Semi-final Preview
World number seven, Samantha Stosur of Australia will go one-on-one against the 32nd ranked German, Julia Goerges in the first semi-final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany. The highly anticipated
clash will be played at the Porsche Tennis Arena on Saturday afternoon and the winner of the contest will get a shot at the $721,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title.
A thrilling encounter is expected between the two competitors as they battle it out for extending their title count. Stosur upset the world number three Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the quarter-final encounter, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3),
to reach the round of four at Stuttgart. On the other hand, Goerges stood victorious in an all-German clash against Sabine Lisicki in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, to meet Stosur in the semis.
The two players had faced each other once before, with Goerges winning the game. It was at Tokyo last year when the German outclassed Stosur in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the round of 32. Goerges is certainly eyeing to repeat the
similar feat at Stuttgart this time.
Winner of two WTA titles, Stosur has been in an ordinary form throughout the current year. Despite her early exits from Brisbane International, the Sydney International and the Australian Open, she rose to number five in the world
rankings. Her appearance in the quarter-finals of the Dubai International Championships pushed her to her career highest WTA ranking of number four. The Aussie next suffered ejection in the third round at Indian Wells and then a fourth round loss from Maria
Sharapova at Miami. Stosur also failed to defend her title at Charleston last week, falling to Elena Vesnina in the third round. It is the first semi-final appearance for the Australian this year and it will be interesting to see how she tackles the match
pressure against Goerges, who has already defeated her once before.
22-year-old German kicked off 2011 with her brilliant performances at ASB Classic, reaching the semi-finals, where she was defeated by the eventual champion Greta Arn. Goerges qualified for the third round of the Australian Open
but was beaten by the former world number one, Maria Sharapova in a three-set thriller. Goerges played a pivotal role in Germany’s victory over Team Slovenia in the Fed Cup ties in February but her performances at Bogota, Acapulco and Monterrey were quite
ordinary, as she got dispensed out in the initial rounds.
Fifth seed Stosur has been lingering through the tournament, winning two of her most recent matches in the third set. This hints that the Aussie tend to lose focus during the game, a weakness which might be well exploited by the
German opponent. Goerges had a comprehensive opening round victory against Michaella Krajicek and was trailing by one set in the second round clash against the world number five, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, when a shoulder injury forced the fourth seed to
forfeit the game in favour of the German. Goerges fully capitalized this lucky chance and raced past Lisicki through to the semis of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The semi-final contest looks evenly posed but with a prior victory over her opponent, Goerges certainly has a slight edge over the Aussie.
Tags: