STUTTGART, April 22, 2017

Julia Görges enjoyed a perfect start into the weekend, defeating Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to give Germany an early 1-0 lead over the Ukraine in their Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Play-off tie.

Elina Svitolina

In a tight opening encounter at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Görges broke Svitolina in the fourth game of the first set with some fine groundstrokes and good movement to the net to gain a 3-1 lead.

The good work of the German, however, was undone by a couple of double faults in her next service game and the 22-year-old Ukrainian got back on track to eventually snuck the set in the 10th game after 44 minutes.

Görges was back in control in the second set, as she went for her shots again and gained a double break, securing the frame 6-1 to push the match the distance.

In the final set, the 28-year-old German capitalized on her lone break point chance in the eighth game to serve the match out after two hours and two minutes.

🇩🇪 @juliagoerges gives Germany a 1-0 lead with a 46 61 64 win over 🇺🇦 Svitolina! pic.twitter.com/FOMJh23jCh

— Fed Cup (@FedCup) 22. April 2017

“It was a very special match for me today and I am very proud to give Germany the first point,” Görges was pleased with her performance. “I think it was a good match from both players. I am overwhelmed to secure the victory.”

Svitolina was obviously dissapointed in her post-match press conference.

“Julia went for her shots today and probably got more rewarded for that than me. It was a tough match. I had some up and downs in my game today. She took her opportunities and I didn’t take mine. I will try to analyze it move on,” the Odessa native said.

Görges’ win puts the pressure on Ukraine’s number two Lesia Tsurenko, who will take on Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s second singles rubber. The World No. 1 is back in the side after missing Germany’s defeat by the United States in this year’s first round.