BRD Bucharest Open, Romania

Women’s Final: [45] Julia Goerges (GER) vs. [58] Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

They were tied 1:1; however, they have not played each other since 2014 and both players’ games have evolved significantly since then.  Advantage went to the Romanian, Begu, who despite being the lower ranked player had most of the crowd support.  She was playing on home soil and used it to her advantage late in the second set after Goerges broke her to break back.

Some players enjoy the benefits of playing on home soil, embracing the pressure and encouragement with ease; others struggle at home, finding the pressure of crowd expectation too overwhelming.  Begu apparently enjoyed the support this week and produced some of her best tennis this season to come away with the victory over the German.  Begu won 6-3, 7-5 to claim her fourth career singles title.

Goerges, obviously upset that she did not win the second set after being up the break late in the set, conveyed her frustration during the trophy presentation ceremony.  She bluntly admonished the crowd for their lack of sportsmanship.  She fully understood that they would root for Begu but she was disappointed that they did not take into consideration the opponent.  It is understandably a difficult situation for many players to play an opponent on their home soil; however, it should be something that they have adjusted too especially when they play in the Federation Cup and especially they are not a highly recognizable/admired opponent like Serena Williams or Rafael Nadal.  While it was a tad off-putting for Goerges, she should not have allowed the crowd’s support of her opponent to disrupt her game.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Bing search (Getty Images)