Victory at last for Goerges
It was ninth time a charm for Julia Goerges at the ASB Classic yesterday.
The German, who has been coming to Auckland every year since 2010, finally took out the title at the Classic, defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 7-6 in an hour.
Goerges had made the final at the Classic once before, against Sloane Stephens in 2016, but to go one step further helped cement in her mind that this is one of her favourite tournaments.
‘‘It means quite a lot, I must say,’’ Goerges said of her victory, which was her third straight title.
‘‘I’ve been quite consistent in this tournament over the years and it’s nice to finally get this nice big trophy.
‘‘But the next day the work is going to start again – it doesn’t mean anything for me at the next event because I’ve won three titles. So I always need to keep improving and working hard.’’
Goerges is now on a 14-match winning streak, that stretches back to October, so has become one of the most consistent players in the women’s game, which is something she’ll be able to take into the Australian Open later this month.
‘‘I’m just doing my thing,’’ Goerges said. ‘‘It’s about winning matches – it’s not always about winning them nicely and playing great tennis.’’
A final can only really be called an epic if it goes three sets, but this was still a high quality encounter played in tough conditions, and there were just three breaks of serve in the entire match.
Wozniacki wasn’t overly despondent about losing. It has after all been a successful week for her as she’ll move to No 2 in the world rankings, so will be the second seed at the Australian Open.
However, not being able to win in Auckland after five attempts is becoming a frustration for her.
‘‘It’s one of the events I’ve never won and there aren’t many places in the world where I haven’t one, so that’s a motivation,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s always hard at the beginning of the year, you want to get going and get your game into place.
‘‘I feel like I’ve done that here in the past and done that, but I just haven’t been able to get on the last step.
‘‘But I’ve also played players who’ve played really well out there, and sometimes you’ve just got to take your hat off and say well done.’’