Julia Goerges became the first German for 15 years to reach the final of Stuttgart’s WTA tournament when she beat Australia’s Samantha Stosur in Saturday’s semi-final. Goerges needed two hours 16 minutes to inflict a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over fifth-seed Stosur and will now face either world number one Caroline Wozniacki or Poland’s Agnieska Radwanska in Sunday’s final. “It is unbelievable to have beaten a player like Stosur. And in front of a home crowd. I’m just too happy for words, ” said Goerges. This is only the third time the 22-year-old Goerges has reached a WTA final and she is the first German to reach the Stuttgart final since Anke Huber, who was the runner-up to Martina Hingis in 1996. Having broken Stosur in the opening game, the first set followed service until Goerges produced a deft shot to win the opening set 6-4. Stosur came back in the second and broke the German in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead. Goerges broke back in the seventh game, but Stosur repaid the compliment immediately for a 5-3 lead and then she served out for the set. In a tense third set, Goerges broke Stosur in the sixth game, before being broken herself in the very next game, but having served out to a 6-5 lead, the German produced some great shots to break again for the set and match. Goerges is in the hunt to claim the winners prize of a brand-new sports car worth 111,000 US dollars.
