After Julia Goerges booked her place in the quarter-finals of the Nature Valley Classic for the second year in a row with a 6-4 6-3 win over Evgeniya Rodina, she spoke about her recently-acquired fondness for grass.
“Since last year a lot has changed,” the German said. “I think my whole approach towards grass is a bit different than in previous years. I definitely like it a bit more. People were always telling me I could be a very good grass court player, but I didn’t see any results, so I didn’t believe it. But last year it changed.”
“Maybe grass is already my favourite surface,” she joked. “It is always a short period of the year and I will just try to make the best out of it. I feel good on grass now and for me it’s just about getting more and more matches in to get my rhythm.”
Goerges made an excellent start to the year when she won the title in Auckland and reached the quarter-final stage in Dubai. But she has struggled with an injury since then.
“Recent months have been tough for me, especially on my body,” the German said. “I’m very happy to be playing another match tomorrow as I think it’s all about getting more matches at the moment.”
She continued, “My body was not really working. I had a really bad neck injury which took away my serve. It’s a big weapon, so if it goes away from my game it’s not easy to get free points or to have the service games I’m aiming for.”
“My body feels good now. I don’t have any pain. There will be days when I feel something but, compared to last month, I feel very good.”
Happy Goerges reflects on Rodina win
Goerges seemed delighted with her performance against Rodina. “I think my serve improved a lot compared to the first match. My movement was better too and I was very aggressive today. That’s how I’ve always been but I made less mistakes today.”
She continued, “I think Rodina is a dangerous grass court player. She re-directs the ball very well and you barely see where she is going to, but I knew if I took a little bit of momentum and pace away from her by being aggressive, then she wouldn’t like that.”
Goerges admitted that it was definitely the kind of match that might have caused her problems on grass in the past. She also said that her results last year on the surface have changed the way she thinks about it.
“(Past successes) give you a different view on it. For me, the mental approach is the biggest difference to playing on other surfaces because there are balls you cannot do anything about. Sometimes it looks really bad, but you just have to accept it and move forward. That’s what I learned last year and that’s what I’m trying to take into this year.”
The German will face Naomi Osaka’s conqueror Yulia Putintseva in the last eight. “It will be a tricky match,” she said. “She’s a tricky opponent. She has a lot of variety in her game and she sees the court well. She tries to make it as tough as possible for me, but I just need to focus on myself, be aggressive and not think too much about my opponent.”
Goerges continued, “I need to wait for the right opportunities to be aggressive and not go crazy on my shots. That’s a big part of it too.”
