Goerges and Azarenka to play in Madrid semifinals

People who saw Julia Goerges play (I didn't) in the third round of the Madrid Open said she looked pretty tired. She wasn't too tired to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals, however. Goerges' 6-4, 6-2 victory places her in the semifinals against 4th seed Victoria Azarenka. In the last two months, Azarenka has either retired from events or won them. She had to retire in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells because of a hip injury (an ongoing problem), and she retired with a shoulder injury in the second round in Stuttgart. Azarenka won titles in Miami and Marbella.

To get to the semifinals, Azarenka defeated Lucie Safarova 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The Belarusian is now 6-0 against Safarova, who took her first set off of Azarenka today.

Li Na--who has never been known for her performance on clay, and who had experienced quite a downfall since her big Australian Open run--is somewhat of a surprise semifinalist, despite being seeded 6th. Li defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Mattek-Sands gave Li a lot of opposition, but then was easil broken at love in the final game.

Li's opponent will be Petra Kvitova, the 16th seed. Kvitova is a bit of a surprise, too, in that one might not expect her to perform at a high level on red clay. But she defeated a very good clay performer, Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Kvitova is just full of surprises, however, and I look forward to seeing what the next one will be.

Azarenka and her partner, Maria Kirilenko, seeded 5th in doubles, defeated the 3rd seeds, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, in today's semifinals. Their opponents in the Madrid final will be 2nd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. Peschke and Srebotnik defeated Casey Dellacqua and Rennae Stubbs 6-1, 4-6, 10-2.

Quarterfinal draw set for Madrid

The top three seeds are no longer around, but the Madrid Open quarterfinal draw is nevertheless an intriguing one. Yesterday, 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva was beaten in straight sets by Petra Kvitova, and today, 3rd seed Francesca Schiavone was defeated by Bethanie Mattek-Sands. 5th seed Sam Stosur is also gone: She was upset 7-5, 6-3 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The biggest news today, however, was the knock-out of top seed Caroline Wozniacki,  6-4, 1-6, 6-3, by Julia Goerges, the player who defeated Wozniacki in the Stuttgart final. In the meantime, Lucie Safarova continued her fine run, defeating Jarmila Gajdosova in straight sets; she has also taken out Anabel Medina Garrigues and 7th seed Jelena Jankovic.

Top doubles seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta were defeated yesterday by 5th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko. Today, 2nd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik advanced to the semifinals, as did 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. Pesschke and Srebotnik defeated Charleston champions Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina. Also moving to the semifinals was the team of Casey Dellacqua and Rennae Stubbs.

Here is the singles quarterfinal draw:

Julia Goerges vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Victoria Azarenka (4) vs. Lucie Safarova
Li Na (6) vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Dominika Cibulkova vs. Petra Kvitova (16)

Goerges wins Stuttgart championship

The German fans in Stuttgart got to see two of their countrywomen pick up trophies and bouquets today at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. German wild card Sabine Lisicki and her partner, Sam Stosur, won the doubles championsip when they defeated the all-German team of Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Woehr 6-1, 7-6.

Julia Goerges got more than a trophy and flowers. She not only won her first premier WTA event, but she did it by defeating the world number 1. She was given a shiny silveer Porsche, too, which she drove across the court after her 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Goerges has played great tennis all week. She took out Lisicki in the quarterfinals, and 5th seed Stosur in the semifinals. (She was also the recipient of a second round retirement from the ever-fragile Victoria Azarenka.) The match against Stosur was an especially good one, and Goerges had to push herself both mentally and physically to overcome the 5th seed. Today, playing in the biggest match of her career, she kept a cool head, served extremely well, and forced errors from Caroline Wozniacki by repeatedly throwing the Dane off of her rhythm and targeting the Wozniacki forehand.

The unseeded German won 72% of her first serve points, and 65% of her second serve points (she also won 72% of her first serve points against Stosur, and 68% against Lisicki); she hit 38 winners to 29 unforced errors. Strong on both sides, Goerges was aggressive throughout both sets, and wasn't afraid to go to the net to finish points.

The Stuttgart tournament is played indoors, so we will all be watching Goerges to see if she can maintain her progress outdoors on red clay. In Charleston, the clay surface is faster than it is in Europe, and Goerges ran hot and cold on it. Her forehand was in top form at the Family Circle Cup, but she also experienced what appeared to be mental lapses during some of her games. On the other hand, Charleston is the first tournament of the clay season, and it isn't unusual to see players struggle to make the adjustment from hard courts.

Goerges won the Bad Gastein title in 2009, and she is now 2-1 in finals. Wozniacki has yet to win a title on red clay. The world number 1, however, owns 16 titles, including the 2011 green clay event in Charleston. Goerges is the the second German to win in Stuttgart. Anke Huber won the tournament on an indoor hard court in 1991 and 1994.

Goerges and Wozniacki to meet in Stuttgart final

The home crowd in Stuttgart has something big to cheer for this year: Julia Goerges, who is unseeded, upset 5th seed Sam Stosur today in the semifinals. Goerges defeated Stosur 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in a very well-played contest between two forehand-favoring players. The Goerges forehand, with its elaborate preparation, works well on clay, and Goerges moved expertly throughout the match.

Goerges will have plenty to do in the final. Her opponent is world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated her friend Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals. Radwanska's serve was the best I have ever seen it, and I thought the match was going to three sets. Radwanska saved six match points, which added some excitement to the latter part of the match.

Stosur, by the way, is still in the doubles competition. She and Sabine Lisicki won their semifinal match against Vitalia Diatchenka and Mariya Koryttseva. In the final, they will play Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Woehr, who defeated Kathrin Woerle and Katalin Marosi. Lisicki and Stosur are wild cards; Barrois and Woehr are unseeded.

Stosur goes to first semifinal of the season in Stuttgart

The phrases "Vera Zvonareva" and "broken racquet" go together in the lexicon of women's professional tennis, but today in Stuttgart, it was a case of Vera Zvonareva and broken strings. The 2nd seed's strings broke repeatedly, sometimes more than once during a game. At one point, she had to use her coach's racquet. And for the sixth time in a row, Stosur beat her. The 5th seed--who is again showing signs that clay is the surface on which she is most comfortable--won 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, and will play Julia Goerges in the semifinals.

Goerges, who is the last German standing, broke countrywoman Sabine Lisicki at 4-all in both the first and second set, and walked away with a 6-4, 6-4 win. She and Andrea Petkovic lost in the doubles quarterfinals, however. They were defeated in straight sets by wild cards Stosur and Licsicki.

A lot of people probably expected Andrea Petkovic to be the last German standing. On paper, she should be. The "old Petkovic" used to choke away leads, and--just when we thought she had been banished--she showed up today in Stuttgart. Petkovic was up 4-1, 40-0 in the first set, and somehow managed to lose it 4-6. After that, top seed Caroline Wozniacki simply took over; Petkovic won one game in the second set.

Wozniacki's opponent in the semifinals will be Agnieszka Radwanska. I really wanted to watch Radwanska's match against Kristina Barrois because I so enjoy both of their games. In the middle of the first set, though, I had to leave. Radwanska won, 7-5, 6-3.

McHale upsets Kleybanova in Charleston

It was a big day for Christina McHale. Not only was she selected as a member of the USA Fed Cup team, but she also pulled off the first big upset of the 2011 Family Circle Cup. McHale, a qualifier, defeated 8th seed Alisa Kleybanova 6-1, 6-0 in the second round. This was Kleybanova's first match on the green clay of Charleston, and it wasn't a comfortable experience. McHale, for her part, gave her opponent only one break opportunity, and Kleybanova could not convert it. The 8th seed won only 43% of her first serves, and a dismal 9% of her second.

In the first round, qualifier Eva Birnerova won the first set against 12th seed Julia Goerges 6-1, and held five match points in the second, but was overtaken 7-5 by the German player. Unfortunately, at 0-2 in the third, Birnerova had to retire because of an ankle injury.

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova really had to work to get her victory. She defeated Andrea Hvlavackova 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(8). Zahlavova Strycova is the tournament's 15th seed.

6th seed Yanina Wickmayer looked very sharp today in her second round match against Zheng Jie, which she won 6-4, 6-0. Also getting a decisive win was 9th seed Maria Kirilenko, who defeated Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-0.

Sabine Lisicki and Irina Falconi made appearances on the new stage on the Great Lawn this evening. Falconi  defeated Memphis champion Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round. In the second round, she plays world number 1 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Conditions were windy today after a big storm passed through the Charleston area. Good, mostly sunny, weather is predicted for the rest of the week. Only one match--a doubles event--had to be postponed.

Sharapova wins thriller against Goerges

Maria Sharapova and Julia Goerges were not able to play as scheduled because of a dead spot on the court in Hisense Arena. Staff members had to drill a hole in the court to let the air out of the surface where the dead spot was. About twenty minutes later, the players were able to go on. The delay certainly didn't bother Goerges, who took control of the first set. She wobbled toward the end of it, squandering two set points with forehand errors, but a double fault from the 14th seed set Goerges up for a third set point, which she converted.

Sharapova served for, and barely survived, the first game of the second set. She broke Goerges at 2-all, then Goerges had treatment for a blister on her foot. While the trainer was treating her opponent, Sharapova, who had double-faulted eight times, practiced her serve. It must have helped, because she looked much better in her next service game, and even better in her next one. It was a well-played set, and the 14th seed got into a groove of the sort we used to always expect from her. She topped it off, in fact, with an ace for set point.

Goerges was broken right away in the third set, as Sharapova remained dominant. By this time, the 2008 champion was hitting winners right and left. Goerges went down 0-4, but then put herself on the scoreboard after hitting a couple of her own impressive winners. She went on to break Sharapova, and followed the break with a hold. Goerges' momentum, as admirable as it was, was stopped when Sharapova held at love. Well, it was kind of stopped, because Goerges then played a brilliant game under pressure and held at 15.

I'm generally not the biggest fan of huge, hard hitting, over and over, but I couldn't take my eyes off of this match for a moment. Sharapova won it, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 with an ace on her first match point, but it could have gone either way. Both players performed with such intensity, the match was a total pleasure to watch. And Sharapova--despite her eleven double faults--looked, for all the world, like....Sharapova. Both she and Goerges should get confidence boosts from what they did in the third round.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters has withdrawn from the China Open.

Serena Williams says she may play in Moscow. She has withdrawn frm the China Open.

The popular tournament in New Haven (formerly Pilot Pen Tennis) tournament is still searching for a sponsor.

The Commonwealth Games will commence on October 3. And of course, Sania Mirza's interviewer just had to use the "b" word.

Julia Goerges' upset of Sam Stosur was her first-ever top-10 win.

Kerry Melville Reid talks about her career and her place in history.

Happy Birthday to Kimiko Date Krumm!

Stosur upset in 2nd round in Tokyo

Julia Goerges, who defeated Dinara Safina in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, took out 4th seed Sam Stosur today. Goerges upset Stosur 7-5, 6-3.

Stosur wasn't the only seed to exit. 10th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Andrea Petkovic, 13th seed Shahar Peer lost to Kaia Kanepi, and 14th seed Aravane Rezai lost to qualifier Coco Vandeweghe. Flavia Pennetta defeated Maria Kirilenko, and Daniela Hantuchova had to retire against Kimiko Date Krumm in the third set; Hantuchova injured her right shoulder.

In doubles, the team of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez--one of 2009's biggest success stories on the tour--lost in the first round to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez were set back considerably this year because of an injury sustained by Martinez Sanchez.

Wozniacki wins title in Copenhagen

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated 7th seed Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 7-6 today in the Danish Open. Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Greonefeld, also the top seeds, won the doubles title, defeating Vitalia Diatchenko and Tatiana Poutchek 6-4, 6-4. 

Complaints about line-calling went on throughout the tournament.

Goerges wins Gastein Ladies

Today in Bad Gastein, Julia Goerges played her delayed semifinal match against Alize Cornet, and won it, 6-1, 6-4. She then defeated Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-4 in the final. This is Goerges' first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title.

2nd seeds Lucie Hradecka and Anabel Medina Garrigues won the doubles title, defeating 4th seeds Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin 6-7, 6-1, 10-5.

Date Krumm out of HP Open

Wild card Kimiko Date Krumm was knocked out of the first round of the HP Open in Osaka today by Jill Craybas, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Linz, 6th seed Sorana Cirstea was upset 6-3, 6-3 by qualifier Julia Goerges. Yesterday, 4th seed Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Katarina Srebotnik in straight sets. Srebotnik is not having an easy time of it, making a return from two serious injuries.

Who is Julia Goerges, and why does she keep beating Katarina Srebotnik?

When Kararina Srebotnik lost in the first round at Wimbledon, I was surprised and disappointed, but not completely shocked. Grass is not exactly Srebotnik's surface, and her opponent was Julia Goerges, who has made a bit of a dent in the tour. Ranked 99 in the world (she has been ranked as high as 93), Goerges played only five tour events last year. She reached the semifinals at Stockholm, beating Maria Elena Camerin, Klara Zakopalova and Emelie Loit. She also beat Agnes Szavay in the first round in Doha, and won two ITS singles titles and two doubles titles.

This year, Goerges reached the quarterfinals in Memphis, defeating Bethanie Mattek along the way, and, of course, defeated Srebotnik in a 3-hour, 40-minute affair at Wimbledon. She has also failed to qualify on several occasions, and had some first round losses when she did qualify. The 19-year-old German is part of a triad of young German players--Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber are the others--who are worth watching.

Just the other day, Goerges defeated Srebotnik again, this time at the Slovenian Open, her home tournament. In her Portoroz blog, Srebotnik said that--the day before their match--she ran into Goerges and joked that, at least in Portoroz, they would have a tiebreak in the third set. In her post-match blog entry, Srebotnik wrote that after she went up an early break at 3-0 in her match against Goerges, she felt confident, but from then on, Goerges played so well in every aspect that there was nothing she could do to stop her. Goerges won the match, 6-4, 6-2.

Goerges will have her work cut out for her in today's semifinal. She plays clay specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues, but Medina Garrigues can handle a hard court, and is generally a good strategist and willing to last a long time.

Wimbledon day 2--Srebotnik the only seed eliminated

Yesterday, five seeded players fell; today, it was only one, and she fell in a dramatic way. The talented Katarina Srebotnik, whose volleying--theoretically--should take her deep into the Wimbledon draw, was defeated in the first round by Julia Goerges of Germany. Goerges, who is ranked number 102 in the world, defeated Srebotnik 4-6, 7-6, 16-14. (In case you are not familiar, there is no tiebreak in a Wimbledon third set.)

They two played for two hours and sixteen minutes, none of which I was able to watch. They broke each other eight times apiece, though Srebotnik had twice as many break chances against Goerges than vice versa. The remaining stats for both players are remarkably similar except for the unforced error count: Goerges had twice as many unforced errors as Srebotnik.

I am probably going to watch at least some of this later.

Goerges will play Marina Erakovic in the next round.