TENNIS Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – For the Porsche Team Germany, Wednesday was a rather average day. It began well as Julia Görges progressed to the last 16. However the tournament then came to an end for her teammates Sabine Lisicki and Andrea Petkovic despite the crowd’s vociferous support in the Porsche Arena, Stuttgart. Simone Kemler
Julia Görges had every reason to be pleased after her 6-1, 7-5 win against the Romanian Sorana Cirstea. “The win was very important as it’s ensured me a place in the Wimbledon main draw,” said the 2011 Stuttgart winner who was visibly pleased with her first round display. After some rather average results this year, it was confirmation for her that she was on the right track after her wrist injury in 2013 and the slip down the rankings to No. 94. “If I could always play like I did in the first set – I’d sign immediately,” she said.
In the last 16, the Porsche Team Germany player will now meet Ana Ivanovic. Playing Sabine Lisicki, the former World No. 1 from Serbia booked her place in the second round and in doing so promptly knocked the 2013 Wimbledon finalist out of the tournament. The German – also a Porsche Team Germany member – had no chance on the day against Ana Ivanovic who closed out the match with her second match point after exactly one hour of play. A resident of Basle, the 2008 French Open winner dominated right from the start of the Centre Court encounter. After her shoulder injury, Sabine Lisicki was simply not in the form that had taken her to the Wimbledon final ten months ago. The current World No. 14 was nevertheless not dissatisfied with her fleeting appearance at the long-standing Stuttgart tournament. “I wasn’t able to play any tennis at all for three weeks because of the injury. Today was the first time for a long while that it didn’t hurt.” However Sabine Lisicki also admitted that she had made far too many unforced errors. “I lack confidence,” said the 24-year old.
Confidence was something Andrea Petkovic has been building up recently as a result of her win at the tournament in Charleston in March and then last weekend when reaching the Fed Cup final with Porsche Team Germany. Things are going well for the 26-year old at the moment – but it is still an exhausting time. “It was fairly obvious that my body was going to strike at some stage,” she said. And it is exactly what happened in her match against Flavia Pennetta – even though it only came in the third set. “Petko” lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 against the world No. 13 from Brindisi. With the score at 4-3 in the first set for Pennetta, the German had a slight shock because of a pulled thigh muscle and was only able to continue after having treatment. “It didn’t hinder me much,” she said, “What’s more annoying is that I made so many unforced errors in the first three games of the third set. And then after going 3-0 down, I was simply tired.”
In the doubles Antonia Lottner from the Porsche Talent Team Germany and fellow Germany Anna Zaja had a great win. They replaced the Czech pairing of Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Safarova as lucky losers in the first round and then proceeded to beat Mona Barthel (Porsche Team Germany) and Eva Birnerova (Czech Republic) 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. Julia Görges and Anna-Lena Grönefeld from Porsche Team Germany were defeated by the Italian duo Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-3. (Porsche Tennis GP)
