Goerges rallies past Vandeweghe to lift WTA Elite Trophy

ZHUHAI, China – Reuters

German Julia Goerges tamed American CoCo Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the WTA Elite Trophy to claim the biggest title of her career on Nov. 5.

Second seed Vandeweghe got an early break and breezed to a 5-2 lead in the opening set before the German staged a brilliant comeback.

The seventh seed, who won the Kremlin Cup in Moscow a fortnight back, broke back while the American was serving for the opening set and went on to win it 7-5.

Vandeweghe won only one of the last 12 games in the match as the 29-year-old pinned her with a barrage of winners while dropping just one point on serve in the second set.

Goerges was simply unstoppable in the second set and she completed the victory with a crosscourt return winner on her second championship point.

The 29-year-old screamed in delight after completing a stellar year in which she won two titles and reached five finals.

“I can’t imagine a better ending to the season, two titles in two weeks... this is the biggest one,” Goerges said after receiving the trophy from her compatriot and 22-time singles grand slam champion Steffi Graf.

“I’m looking forward to next year.”

It was the ninth win in a row for Goerges, who hit 21 winners compared to her opponent’s 18 during the one hour 20-minute match.

The German, however, managed to keep her unforced errors to just nine while Vandeweghe had 22. Vandeweghe was also not helped by six double faults on her serve at crucial situations.

Despite the loss Vandeweghe will finish the year in the top 10 for the first time while Goerges will rise to a career-best 14th.

The tournament’s 12-player singles field featured the leading players on the women’s tour who did not qualify for last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore while one wildcard was awarded to China’s top-ranked player Peng Shuai.