The quarterfinal of the 2019 ASB Classic Auckland will feature the second seed Julia Goerges against the former Canadian No. 1 Eugenie Bouchard.
Watch & bet on Eugenie Bouchard v Julia Goerges live in the ASB Classic with bet365 here* on Friday, January 4. The Bouchard v Goerges quarterfinal match will begin around 1:00 pm local time (GMT +13).
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Bouchard v Goerges Head to Head
Bouchard and Goerges have crossed paths only twice on the WTA Tour so far. The head-to-head tally is evenly tied at 1-1, with the German getting the last laugh. They last met in the semifinal of the 2018 WTA Luxembourg, where Goerges won the match 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1.
Bouchard’s Run in Auckland
The 24-year-old Canadian has had an interesting run in Auckland so far, to say the least. While she won her opening match against Madison Brengle comfortably, she did face some difficulties in the second round against the Dutch qualifier Bibiane Schoofs.
Even though she won the close encounter against the World No. 174 with 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, it was pretty evident that she was all out of sorts. In fact, it got to a point when her coach, Michael Joyce, had to come down to the court and give her a pep talk about her attitude.
In the end, the talk did work given that the Canadian buckled up in the final set and took the match.
The last couple of seasons have been quite tumultuous for Bouchard. In 2018, she ended the season as the World No. 87. Her best run came in Luxembourg, where she reached the semifinal as a qualifier. She spent most of her year dabbling between the ITF and WTA circuits but didn’t have much luck in either.
However, in the post-match conference, she mentioned that she has made great strides in the right direction. Her true test now will be against Goerges, who had a pretty remarkable spell in the previous season.
Goerges’ 2018 Season
The German ended 2018 as the World No. 14 – just five places shy of her career-best singles ranking at the No. 9 place. Not-so-surprisingly, she achieved that ranking in the same year itself.
She started the year in Auckland, where she won the title after defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final. She went through the season by reaching the penultimate rounds in many big tournaments like WTA Doha, WTA Charleston, and the Wimbledon, where she was a semifinalist.
In the final leg of the season, she reached the semifinal in New Haven as well before moving on to win the title in Luxembourg. As for her performance so far in Auckland, she has won both of her matches in straight sets, respectively against Johanna Larsson and Mona Barthel.
Goerges v Bouchard – Who Will Win?
Goerges, being the defending champion, has a lot to prove here. Additionally, she is the second seed and has been in a much better form than her Canadian adversary. She will start as the favorite to win although, Bouchard will put up some resistance on her end as she too, is keen to go the distance here. This is going to be a great match to watch.
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