Germany’s Julia Goerges stormed to victory at the WTA Elite Trophy on Sunday, hammering No 2 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in the final to claim her second title of the year.
The 29-year-old made an unexpected comeback in the first set to take down the fiery Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-1 in Zhuhai, China, as fellow German and tennis legend Steffi Graf watched from the stands.
With the title, Goerges is set to end the season with a career-high ranking of world No 14. She joins other Elite Trophy winners Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams.
“There is no better way to end this season,” she said after the match. “I’m just happy. I think I have not really any words to describe right now. I think I still can’t believe it… It’s just amazing.”
Vandeweghe started off strong in the first set – easily breaking Goerges in the second game and holding serve in the next to give her a 3-0 lead.
But Goerges clung on, finally breaking serve in the ninth game and setting herself up for a fantastic comeback. A fuming Vandeweghe shouted and threw her racket on the ground in frustration before finally losing the set 7-5.
