Goerges vanquishes Vandeweghe for title

Zhuhai : Julia Goerges reeled off 11 of the last 12 games to defeat No.2 seed CoCo Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, a big-hitting affair that sealed back-to-back titles for the first time in the German’s career following her win at the Kremlin Cup, Moscow two weeks ago.

Just a month ago, Goerges was on a six-match losing streak in finals, and her title drought stretched back to Stüttgart in April 2011.

Now, the 29-year-old has overturned both statistics in style - and matched her career-best match-winning streak in the process at nine, previously set by following that Stüttgart trophy up with a semifinal in Madrid.

“I think there is no better way to end this season,” Goerges said. “It’s been a great season. I have had a lot of tough losses in Grand Slams this year where I had to get over it, but I still continued to work hard and still continued to believe in my team and my work.

“At the end it paid off, and I’m just happy. I think I have not really any words to describe right now. I think I still can’t believe it a little bit. It’s actually a complete new start for me since I have achieved a new career high ranking with my new team. I got two new titles in three weeks. It’s just amazing.”

As expected of an encounter between two players who had suffered just five service breaks between them this week coming into the final (three for Vandeweghe and two for Goerges), the match’s momentum shifts hinged on the ability of each to execute first-strike tennis.

Just six points in the entire match exceeded 10 strokes, and during the middle portion of the first set, 24 out of 28 straight points were won by the server.

It was the American who landed the first blow against her opponent’s delivery, hammering huge forehands to break for 2-0. By the time Vandeweghe had progressed to a 5-2 lead, she had conceded just three points on her own serve, and none whenever she had landed a first serve.