Julia Goerges yesterday cruised into the Final of the WTA Auckland Classic, but faced an overnight wait to find out if she would face Caroline Wozniacki or Sloane Stephens after rain suspended their match.
Fifth seed Stephens was threatening an upset with a 5-2 lead over former world No. 1 Wozniacki and was serving for the first set when the rain, which had repeatedly disrupted play through the day, brought an end to proceedings.
The match was scheduled to resume early today, with the winner then having only a few hours’ break before facing Goerges in the final.
Photo: AFP
The 27-year-old German took 66 minutes to defeat qualifier Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-4, 6-2 in the first semi-final.
Goerges, who last claimed a title in Stuttgart in 2011, said she took a lot of confidence from the ease of her semi-final victory.
“I must say it feels good to be in a Final again after such a long time,” she said. “Overall it was a very good match from my side. I played very aggressive, served decent in the first set, the second set there wasn’t a good percentage of first serves.”
Goerges said she had no preference about who she would play against in today’s Final.
Head-to-head Goerges is 1-1 with Stephens and 4-4 with Wozniacki, who in their last meet tipped out of last year’s French Open in straight sets.
“It’s going to be a tough match, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side,” Goerges said.
SHENZHEN OPEN
AFP, BEIJING
World No. 97 Alison Riske yesterday earned a shot at giant-killing glory at the WTA Shenzhen Open when she won her semi-final to set up a showdown with top seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
The low-ranking American defeated Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-2, 6-4, in a 1 hour and 18 minute match littered with breaks, with seven of the 18 games going against the serve.
The 25-year-old, who started playing at the age of three, has only ever reached one WTA Final before when she won the 2014 Tianjin Open, also in China.
However, she has a tough task ahead if she is to win the US$500,000 tournament, with Poland’s Radwanska ranked 92 places above her.
The 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, and winner of the WTA finals in Singapore in November, reached the Final by defeating Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-2, 6-4.
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