Auckland: Powerful-serving Julia Goerges stunned top seed Caroline Wozniacki with a straight sets win in the WTA Auckland Classic tennis tournament final, here Sunday.
The 29-year-old German, with a first serve topping 180 kilometres per hour, sent down 11 aces on her way to winning the title here for the first time in her ninth attempt 6-4, 7-6(7/4). It also stretched the World No. 14’s winning streak to 14 matches including winning successive WTA tournaments in Moscow and Zhuhai late last year.
Goerges made an immediate statement at the start of each set with service breaks. Games went with service from there in the first set, which Goerges sealed with her seventh ace.
Wozniacki double faulted at 15-40 at the start of the second set before she began to fight back. Goerges needed her booming serve to save breakpoints at 2-1 and 3-2 before Wozniacki finally broke through to level at 4-4, sending the set into a tie break which went to the German.
At the Sydney International tennis tournament, Ekaterina Makarova kept cool in the fierce Australian heat to upset French Open champion and World No.7 Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(7/3), 6-1 in the first round.
Makarova rode an early break for a 5-3 lead and, even though her Latvian opponent got back to 5-5, raced away with the first set tie-break. Third seed Ostapenko, then faded away in the 40 degree Celsius heat after losing her first service game in the second.
Agencies
