Goerges’ bittersweet loss
Julia Goerges can thank Australian Ashleigh Barty being able to defend her title at this week’s ASB Classic in Auckland.
The popular German is making her 10th appearance at the Classic and will play on a bumper today, with Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki also in action.
But it’s only because Goerges lost to Barty in the semifinals of the WTA Elite Trophy tournament in Zhuhai, China, in November that she was able to return to Auckland.
Had Goerges won that event it could have put her back inside the top 10 in the world rankings, where she’d spent a large part of the 2018 season.
The Classic is only allowed one player inside the top 10 and with Wozniacki already signed up, Goerges wouldn’t have been allowed to play in Auckland, under the WTA’s rules, so would have had to play in Brisbane or Shenzhen this week instead.
Goerges, whose world ranking is 14, was disappointed to lose to Barty 4-6 6-3 6-2, but says she knew a positive was being able to come back to New Zealand.
‘‘It was a bittersweet loss to Ashleigh in Zhuhai,’’ Goerges said.
‘‘I was thinking that if I won the tournament I wouldn’t be able to start my season in Auckland again.
‘‘It was a tough loss on the day, but on the positive side, I said to my team I can go back to Auckland.’’
Tournament director Karl Budge is looking to raise the Classic from an International to Premier level WTA tournament next year, which would mean there wouldn’t be any limit on the number of top 10 players.
That would be a benefit for not only the Classic, but also leading players, who would be able to confirm their schedule for the first week of the year much earlier.
If Goerges wasn’t able to play at the Classic this time it would have been a great shame as it has become one of her favourite tournaments.
‘‘There’s a great atmosphere every day that you play here,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s a full crowd and they enjoy it. It’s like a family tournament, I always feel very welcome.
‘‘The people just love what they do here and that makes it more special. If you do it with a lot of passion you can see it and that’s a big factor for me coming back.’’
The draw for the Classic has worked out well for Goerges, who is the second seed. The 30-year-old plays world No 77 Johanna Larsson from Sweden in the first round. With Azarenka, Williams and Wozniacki all on the other side of the draw, theoretically Goerges should be able to make it comfortably through to the semifinals, where she’d possibly play either Petra Martic or Barbora Strycova.
No tennis player ever looks beyond their next opponent in a draw, but this one couldn’t have worked out any better for Goerges and she’s hoping that this Classic will be like the last one, which springboarded her into a great season, culminating in reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams.