Serena Williams v Julia Goerges preview: Roland Garros ace leaders ready for third round battle

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Ready for battle: Goerges and Williams.

    Fresh off posting her first top-20 victory since her return from maternity leave, Serena Williams will take on world No. 11 Julia Goerges in the Roland Garros third round on Saturday.

    The pair have not faced off in nearly seven years, with Serena winning their two previous meetings, at Roland Garros in 2010, and Toronto in 2011.

    Goerges has reached seven finals within the last 11 months and entered the top-10 for the first time last February.

    Although her clay preparations heading into Roland Garros were hampered by illness that forced her out of Rome, Goerges seems to be in great form entering her clash with Serena, who took out Kristyna Pliskova and No. 17 seed Ashleigh Barty in her first two matches here in Paris.

  • Patrick Mouratoglou has ‘no doubt’ Serena Williams will win more Grand Slams

  • WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

    Serena, who was out of action for a year, in which she had her first child, Olympia, and got married, had been keeping tabs on the tour it seems while she way away from the game.

    The American 23-time Grand Slam champion said this about Goerges:

    “She’s been playing really, really well, and I have actually been watching her play a lot when I was pregnant, because she’s been winning a lot and they show a lot of her matches.

    “It would be good to play her. Every round for me is just an opportunity to go out there and do the best that I can do, and whether I win or lose, that’s what I’m out here to do in this tournament.”

    Goerges, who hurt her neck during her warm-up ahead of her second-round win over Alison van Uytvanck, is hoping that issue does not affect her serving. The 29-year-old said this about her upcoming showdown with Serena, as quoted by German outlet mytennis.info.

    “I believe the name Williams has an incredible status in tennis, and rightfully so. Serena hasn’t won 23 Slams in passing. Still, I believe you’ve got to distance yourself a little from the name of your opponent.

    “I want to play my game, regardless of who is on the other side. Sometimes that is easier said than done but that is how I want to go about this match. For me it’s fantastic that I get to play Serena even if it’s already in the third round of a Slam, no matter what people say about the draw. But at the end you need to take every opponent seriously: whether that’s Serena, van Uytvanck or Cibulkova.”

    THE NUMBERS GAME

    0-4 – Goerges’ win-loss record against the Williams sisters.

    3 – Roland Garros titles Serena has won.

    5 – times Goerges has made the fourth round at a Grand Slam, but has never advanced further than that. A win over Serena would see her make that six.

    6 – Serena has played just six singles matches in the last 16 months.

    11-2 – Serena’s win-loss record in Roland Garros third round matches.

    16 – Serena is making her 16th Roland Garros appearance.

    17 – aces from Goerges so far in Paris across her first two rounds.

    22-10 – Goerges’ 2018 win-loss record.

    22 – aces struck by Serena across her two matches so far in Paris.

    51 – Goerges’ ranking in Paris last year. She is currently at No. 11.

    60 – Serena has saved 60% (6/10) of the break points she faced so far in the tournament.

    69 – Goerges has saved 69% (9/13) of the break points she faced this event so far.

    81 – winners from Goerges across her first two rounds this fortnight, compared to Serena’s 57.

    Recommended