In what should be an entertaining final at the Luxembourg Open, Germany’s Julia Goerges, formerly a semifinalist at Wimbledon and seeded fifth in the Grand Duchy, will take on Jelena Ostapenko, who two years ago won the French Open. But who will come out on top in this WTA International-level final?
Luxembourg Open Final Prediction
Jelena Ostapenko vs Julia Goerges
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ostapenko was able to bounce back nicely after dropping the first set against Russia’s Anna Blinkova in the semifinals. Blinkova had stormed out of the blocks against Ostapenko, playing some excellent tennis, as she had done all week at the Luxembourg Open. But Ostapenko, who last week reached the final in Linz, was able to keep her composure and weather the storm. And when the eighth-seeded Blinkova began to falter, she took full advantage to rally to a 3-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Although she has not had a great year, Ostapenko will now surely head into 2020 with real momentum as she has finished her season with, at worst, back-to-back appearances in tour-level finals. Her late-season revival appears to owe much to her new partnership with coach Marion Bartoli, herself a former champion at the All England Club. At long last, Ostapenko is beginning to look like a Grand Slam champion once again.
Goerges, meanwhile, endured a testing path into the semifinals having lost the first set in her opening three matches at the Luxembourg Open. But in the semifinals, up against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the second seed made a fast start and did not take her foot off the gas, deservedly claiming a 6-3 6-4 win and a place in the final as a result. There she will seek the eighth WTA title of her singles career.
This will, perhaps surprisingly, be the first meeting between Ostapenko and Goerges, but as both are well-established touring professionals, they should have a degree of familiarity with each other’s game. Both women will likely look to play on the front foot and dictate proceedings from on the baseline, with short rallies and a high number of both winners and unforced errors likely. But there can be no doubt that it is Ostapenko who is currently playing the better tennis. Although her defeat at the hands of Cori Gauff in Linz must have stung, she has put that behind her impressively in Luxembourg and should be able to seal the perfect response by claiming the title.
Prediction Ostapenko in 3
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