After years of some frustration over the lawn, Julia Görges has finally made friends with the lush green. The 29-year-old could now make his first quarter-final entry at a Grand Slam event on the grass, which has long been so unpopular.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
Julia Görges has not deviated from her habits this time either – despite the Wimbledon curse. Your hotel room in London is reserved until the end of the tournament, again. This has less to do with the expectations of the world ranking 13th in the turf Mecca than with the rigorous principles of Görges.
“I always book to the end so there are no complications,” said the German number two, who will face unseeded Donna Vekic (Croatia) in the match for her first quarter-final entry at a major event on Monday.
It is quite possible that the hotel planning of “Jule” will really pay off these days, as she is now one of the top favourites for the most important title in world tennis after the death of her favourites in the first three rounds. Only Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic/No. 7), Angelique Kerber (Kiel/No. 11) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia/No. 12) are placed higher than Görges in the remaining ranking.
And it would be hard to beat irony if the power player with adopted home Regensburg would celebrate her greatest success so far on the holy turf of all places. Only last year she made friends with this unconventional and unpredictable surface. Or as she calls it, “arranged.” Before that, the Fed Cup player reported, “I didn’t have as much connection to the grass – except perhaps in the garden.
And Görges also provided the reason for her long sceptical attitude. It also has something to do with aesthetics, no question. “It just looks banana on grass sometimes, you can’t really do anything about some balls. “And you’d think it didn’t look like a professional tennis player.”
That’s where David Prinosil comes in. The former professional and Davis Cup player has been giving her valuable tips since last year when it comes to the very special “Surface”. “He explained to me that on grass you just have to accept certain situations as they are,” Görges told me about Prinosil’s banal yet effective advice.
Especially during her 7:6 (7:3), 3:6, 10:8 third round success over the uncomfortable Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic/No. 23) she showed great turf qualities. Many had already wondered how it was possible that Görges, one of the best serveers and volleyball players on the tour, could fail in the opening round of Wimbledon in the last five years. It was also due to the negative attitude towards the green.
But this time a lot seems different – and so great things are possible. Görges will still stay calm. Too high expectations are poison. She learned this in over eleven years on the circuit. And besides, not everything is new – see: The hotel room booking brand Görges.