In arguably the most enticing quarterfinal encounter today at the ASB Classic, third seed and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki faces big-hitting German Julia Goerges for a spot in the last four here in Auckland. Wozniacki and Goerges are both yet to drop a set here in New Zealand's capital city, so this quarterfinal encounter will be sure to entertain.
How they got here
For Wozniacki, the Dane began her tournament in sublime fashion, putting on a masterclass to defeat American Nicole Gibbs 6-1, 6-0 to the loss of just a game. The third seed and 2015 runner-up kept up the impeccable form, getting past another American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-3 under the lights last night in Auckland.
For Goerges though, it has been slightly tougher, with rain forcing the German to play both her first and second round yesterday ahead of today's quarterfinal. In the opening round, the German fought past some tough opposition in sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Goerges winning through 6-3, 6-4.
The world number 53 had to come back a few hours later against Brit Naomi Broady, with the German once again battling her way to a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory over Broady to reach a matchup versus Wozniacki in the last eight.
Previous matchups
Wozniacki and Goerges have met eight times previously, with the pair's head-to-head tied at four matches apiece. The two first met way back in 2010 at the Australian Open, where a then number one ranked Wozniacki eased past the German 6-3, 6-1. Later that year the Dane was forced to battle past Goerges at her home tournament in Copenhagen, with the two-time US Open finalist getting the better of her German opponent 3-6, 6-0, 7-6.
Three consecutive wins over the former number one followed for Goerges, with the world number 53 taking out Wozniacki at her home tournament in Stuttgart 7-6, 6-3 in 2011, before defeating the Dane a few weeks later in Madrid 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. The German claimed a third consecutive win over the world number 19 in Dubai in 2012, battling past Wozniacki 7-6, 7-5.
More recently, the Dane has enjoyed the edge over Goerges, with Wozniacki drawing the head-to-head level in 2014 in Sydney, where the former number one won 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The pair's only ever meeting in Auckland came here in 2015, when the former number one battled past Goerges 6-4, 6-4 en route to the final.
Finally, the pair's most recent encounter came in Paris at the French Open in 2015, where the German leveled the head-to-head up at four apiece with a hard fought 6-4, 7-6 victory over the Dane.
Final thoughts
Despite Wozniacki and Goerges' extremely tight head-to-head, three out of the German's four wins over Wozniacki came on clay, the Dane's weakest surface and Goerges' strongest. On hard courts, the former number one's best surface, the world number 19 owns a 4-1 advantage over the German, with Wozniacki's game translating far better to the faster hard courts.
For Goerges, the key will be to overpower the third seed, something she is certainly capable of doing. With her big serve and powerful groundstrokes, the world number 53 will look to push the former number one back as much as she can, looking to obtain the early advantage in the point.
Meanwhile from Wozniacki's standpoint, the third seed will look to force Goerges to hit as many balls as possible, using her world class defensive skills to bring up errors from the German. It will also be especially important for the Dane to serve well and maintain a high first serve percentage, as anything slow, the world number 53 will look to return back strongly for a winner.
Overall, this promises to be a very intriguing matchup, with three out of the pair's eight career matches going the distance. It will be especially important for both players to start out well and look for the Dane to do that and get Goerges out of rhythm early. In the end, expect the third seed's persistence to pay off, with the German committing just too many unforced errors, resulting in a hard-fought win for the Dane.
Prediction: Wozniacki in three sets