Tennis

Goerges rallies to reach Luxembourg quarters; Mertens loses

Published Oct. 17, 2019 5:21 p.m. ET

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Defending champion Julia Goerges of Germany came from a set down to beat Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Thursday in the second round of the Luxembourg Open.

The second-seeded Goerges double-faulted to be broken in the final game of the first set but then broke for a 4-3 lead in the second before leveling the match. In the decider, it was Cirstea's turn to double-fault on break point to hand Goerges a 5-4 lead. The German then saved two break points in the next game before converting her second match point.

In the quarterfinals, Goerges will face Olympic champion Monica Puig, after the Puerto Rican outlasted Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in match that lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes.

Top-seeded Elise Mertens was eliminated, however, losing 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Jelena Ostapenko. Antonia Lottner advanced when fellow German Andrea Petkovic retired after losing the first set 6-1.

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