Singles, doubles standout Goerges retires at 31

Julia Goerges reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2018.
File photo by Paul Bauman

   Julia Goerges, who reached career highs of No. 9 in singles and No. 12 in doubles, announced her retirement today. 

   The 31-year-old German ended her career with a second-round loss to compatriot Laura Siegemund in the French Open three weeks ago and with a ranking of No. 45. 

   In a letter addressed "Dear Tennis," Goerges, the women's doubles runner-up in the 2013 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford with Darija Jurak of Croatia, wrote on Instagram: "When I started playing tennis at the age of five, I would never have thought that we would go such a long way together.

   "You have given me so many different types of emotions throughout our journey and I am very thankful for everything you have shown and taught me. I learnt how to deal with the toughest losses but also enjoy the most amazing wins of my career, to fight back many times when I was struggling with you and through it all we never lost sight of our dreams."

   Goerges won seven singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour and amassed $9.9 million in career earnings. By reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 2018, she advanced at least to the round of 16 in all four majors in singles. Goerges also advanced to the mixed doubles final in the 2014 French Open with Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

   Goerges was one of eight German women to crack top 10 in singles — with Sylvia Hanika, Bettina Bunge, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Stefanie Graf, Anke Huber, Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber — and one of three to reach the top 15 in singles and doubles with Graf and Kohde-Kilsch. 

   "Julia's powerful playing style, exemplary sportsmanship and thoughtful nature made her a fantastic ambassador for women's tennis and a fan favorite around the world," WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement. "On behalf of the WTA family, I congratulate her on her wonderful career and the contributions she will leave with our sport and wish her every success and happiness for the future. She will certainly be missed."

German routs Bellis, 18, in Mallorca semifinals

Doubles partners Julia Goerges, left, and Karolina
Pliskova are interviewed at Indian Wells last year.
They reached the final, losing to Bethanie Mattek-
Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe 4-6, 6-4 [10-6]..
Photo by Paul Bauman

   CiCi Bellis' breakthrough week on grass ended abruptly today.
   Bellis, an 18-year-old San Francisco native who grew up in nearby Atherton, lost to resurgent Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes in a semifinal matchup of unseeded players in the Mallorca Open. It was Bellis' first tournament on grass since she lost in the first round of Wimbledon juniors three years ago.
   Goerges, 10 years older and four inches (10.2 centimeters) taller than the 5-foot-7 (1.68-meter) Bellis, slugged 27 winners against just 12 errors. She pounded six aces versus two double faults and converted 6 of 7 break points.
   "I needed a little bit of time to figure out the way she's playing; I've watched her quite a few times but I haven't played her before," Goerges, who has plunged from a career-high No. 15 in 2012 to No. 54, said on wtatennis.com. "Obviously, she's very young and she's going to have a bright future. When you just play to her, she likes to hit the ball and redirect the ball very well, so I tried to mix it a little bit, to get the drop shots, and the slice and some volleys in and not only serving bombs. I tried to use this as my weapon today."
   Bellis won only 8 of 21 points (38 percent) on her first serve and just 4 of 17 points (24 percent) on her second delivery.
   Goerges, who routed top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 in the second round, has lost only 14 games in her four matches without dropping a set. She will face No. 2 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the final. Sevastova defeated No. 3 Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss to the Frenchwoman in last year's final.
   Bellis, the youngest player in the top 50, will rise from No. 42 to a career high of about No. 38 on Monday. A ranking of No. 32 or better would guarantee her a seeding in the U.S. Open in August. Bellis turned pro last September after reaching the third round at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier.
   Bellis won't have to wait long for a chance at revenge against Goerges. They are scheduled to meet in the first round at Eastbourne next week. The winner will play No. 8 seed and 2008 champion Agnieszka Radwanska, who has a first-round bye. Bellis stunned Radwanska in the third round at Dubai on hardcourts in February for her only victory over a top-10 player.
   Wimbledon begins a week from Monday.

Djokovic continues domination of Nadal

Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 7-6 (5), 6-2
today in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   At least this one was close for a set and a half.
   Novak Djokovic continued his domination of Rafael Nadal today, beating his rival 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
   The top-seeded Djokovic saved a set point while serving at 4-5 in the first set and won the last four games of the second set.
   "I work hard to be able to come up with the best game when it's the most needed," Djokovic, who will meet 12th-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada for the title, told reporters. "Obviously, today the first set was decided in one or two points; second set was very close. Midway through the second I broke his serve, and last three games I played very well.
   "So I'm just glad to overcome this challenge that is one of the greatest in sport, as it always is playing against Rafa. I'm taking the positives out of today's performance and hoping that I can finish off this tournament tomorrow with another great performance."
   Djokovic improved to 25-23 against Nadal, a three-time Indian Wells champion who was seeded fourth, in the longest-running rivalry on the ATP World Tour during the Open era.
   However, Djokovic has won the last six meetings, all in straight sets, and 10 of the last 11. Nadal had failed to win more than three games in a set in their previous three matches. The 29-year-old left-hander has slumped since missing the summer of 2014 with a right wrist injury and undergoing an appendectomy that November.

Nadal has lost to Djokovic six straight times
and in 10 of their last 11 matches. 2015 photo
by Paul Bauman 

   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Raonic, blasting serves at up to 146 mph, beat 15th-seeded David Goffin, a 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Belgian, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
   Raonic went undefeated in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, winning the last three titles (2011-13).
   Djokovic, seeking his third straight Indian Wells title and record fifth overall, and Raonic will play after Sunday's 11 a.m. women's final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. ESPN will televise both matches.
   Williams and Azarenka have won four of the last six Bank of the West Classic titles at Stanford. Williams triumphed in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and Azarenka in 2010.
   Raonic is 0-2 in finals in Masters 1000 tournaments, the highest level after the Grand Slams. Djokovic will attempt to tie Nadal with 27 Masters 1000 titles.
   Djokovic, who has arguably the best return of serve in history, has lost only one set in five career matches against Raonic. In their last meeting, Djokovic won 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Australian Open en route to the title.
   In today's men's doubles final, No. 7 seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France topped No. 6 seeds and defending champions Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb., 6-3, 7-6 (5).
   Herbert and Mahut, the reigning U.S. Open champions, became the first French team to win the Indian Wells crown since Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean in 2004.
   Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe, playing in their maiden tournament together, defeated Julia Goerges of Germany and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-4 [10-6] in the first BNP women's doubles final between unseeded teams since 2009.
   Mattek-Sands won her 18th tour-level doubles title, including two Slams, and Vandeweghe her first. Vandeweghe, a former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis, lives in the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe. The Capitals folded after their 28th season in the California capital in 2013. 

French Open Day 5 recap: Wozniacki joins exodus

Julia Goerges of Germany beat fifth-seeded Carolina Woz-
niacki in the second round. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- Fifth-seeded "Sweet" Caroline Wozniacki's struggles in the French Open continued as the former world No. 1 fell to Julia Goerges of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the second round in the latest women's upset.
   Wozniacki has advanced past the third round at Roland Garros only once in nine appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2010.
   After two rounds, three of the top six women's singles seeds and 12 of the 32 have been eliminated. Heading the list are No. 3 and 2014 runner-up Simona "I Need Some" Halep, No. 5 Wozniacki and No. 6 Eugenie "In A Bottle" Bouchard.
   Match of the day -- In a battle of past French Open champions, 34-year-old Francesca Schiavone saved a match point in her 6-7 (11), 7-5, 10-8 victory over 18th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. At 3 hours, 50 minutes, it was the third-longest women's singles match at Roland Garros in the Open era, which began in 1968.
   Schiavone also beat Kuznetsova in the longest Grand Slam women's match in history, 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in the round of 16 at the 2011 Australian Open.   
   Notable -- Both No. 1 seeds had physical problems in their victories.
   Novak Djokovic was treated for a hip injury during his straight-set win over Gilles Muller. "It's nothing serious, really," Djokovic said.
   Serena Williams' right elbow, which led her to withdraw from her second-round match in the Italian Open this month, bothered her during her 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany. Williams next plays 27th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion.
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 1 Djokovic, No. 3 Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori (walkover), No. 6 Rafael Nadal (nine-time champion, including last five years), No. 7 David Ferrer, No. 9 Marin "County" Cilic, No. 15 Kevin Anderson, No. 17 David Goffin, No. 23 Leonardo "Da Vinci" Mayer, No. 29 Nick Kyrgios (walkover).
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 16 John Isner, No. 18 Tommy Robredo, No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 27 Bernard "A." Tomic, No. 31 Viktor Troicki.
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 1 Williams (2002, 2013 champion), No. 4 Petra Kvitova, No. 10 Andrea Petkovic, No. 16 Madison "Avenue" Keys, No. 17 Sara Errani, No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky, No. 27 Azarenka, No. 30 Irina-Camelia "Ain't Too Proud To" Begu.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 5 Wozniacki, No. 12 Karolina Pliskova, No. 18 Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009 champion), No. 32 Zarina "Williams" Diyas.
   Stars and stripes -- After two rounds of singles, only two of seven U.S. men remain (Jack Sock and Steve Johnson), and four of 17 American women are left (No. 1 Williams, No. 16 Keys, Sloane "Ranger" Stephens and Irina "Atlanta" Falconi -- all in the top half of the draw).
   Advancing to the second round in women's doubles were No. 7 seeds and reigning Australian Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
   Fast fact -- Two teenagers, Borna Coric (18) of Croatia and Thanasi Kokkinakis (19) of Australia, reached the third round of men's singles. There hadn't been one since 2008. 
   Northern California connection -- Sixth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a San Jose resident and ex-Cal star, and Abigail Spears bowed out of women's doubles in the first round with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia.
   Also losing in women's doubles were Jarmila Gajdosova of the new California Dream in World TeamTennis and fellow naturalized Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. 
   Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in WTT, and Johnson of Redondo Beach lost to fifth-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-4, 6-0 in the second round of men's doubles.
   Winning in the opening round of mixed doubles were second-seeded Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan (Stanford, Dream), and Anastasia Rodionova and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Dream). 
   Quotes -- Djokovic on accidentally letting a long shot by Muller touch his racket before hitting the ground: "Never, never, ever happened. And it should never happen again."
   Schiavone on Kuznetsova's game: "It's like playing in a mirror."

Sharapova advances in Bank of the West

   Maria Sharapova did her part. Now it's up to Serena Williams.
   Sharapova, a Russian seeded second, outlasted Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Wednesday night in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   If Williams beats Maria Kirilenko of Russia on Thursday afternoon, she will meet Sharapova in Friday's quarterfinals in a matchup of former No. 1 players in the world.
   Williams is unseeded at No. 169 after missing 11 months because of foot injuries and life-threatening blood clots in her lungs. She returned to the circuit last month and is playing in her first tournament in the United States in almost two years.
   Also winning Wednesday were third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
   The 5-foot-3 Cibulkova, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist this year, ousted 19-year-old American Christina McHale, the youngest player in the top 100, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
   Bartoli won the Bank of the West Classic in 2009 and reached the final in 2008. Radwanska gained the semifinals last year and Cibulkova the quarterfinals in 2008.
   In the doubles quarterfinals Wednesday, Wimbledon runners-up Sabine Lisicki of Germany and Samantha Stosur of Australia lost to third-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 match tiebreaker.

Serena shuts out ex-Capital Rodionova

   Serena Williams apparently feels pretty good these days.
   The 13-time Grand Slam singles champion demolished Anastasia Rodionova, a former Sacramento Capital, 6-0, 6-0 in 47 minutes Tuesday night in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   It probably didn't hurt that Williams played on the surface she grew up on, hard courts, in her home state. Serena and older sister Venus were raised in Compton in the Los Angeles area but now live in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
   Serena, who will turn 30 in September, is playing in only her third tournament since missing 11 months because of foot injuries and life-threatening blood clots. The Bank of the West Classic is her first tournament in the United States in almost two years.
   On Thursday, the 169th-ranked Williams will meet Russia's Maria Kirilenko, a quarterfinalist last year who beat sixth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany 6-2, 6-3. Williams defeated Kirilenko 6-3, 6-2 last month in the third round at Wimbledon before losing to Marion Bartoli of France.
   In another upset Tuesday, Japan's Ayumi Morita knocked off seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 6-3, 7-5.
   Second-seeded Maria Sharapova, last year's runner-up to Victoria Azarenka, opens against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia tonight at 7.  The top four seeds -- No. 1 Azarenka of Belarus, Sharapova, No. 3 Bartoli and No. 4 Samantha Stosur of Australia -- received first-round byes.
   If Williams and Sharapova win, they will meet Friday night in the quarterfinals in a matchup of former No. 1 players. It would also be a rematch of the 2004 Wimbledon final, in which Sharapova, then 17, stunned the two-time defending champion for the first of her three Grand Slam singles titles.