STUTTGART, April 23, 2017

Germany sealed a 3-2 win over the Ukraine at Stuttgart’s Porsche Arena and will play in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group next year.

In the play-off tie’s second reverse singles rubber on Sunday, Julia Görges defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-4. The 28-year-old German shored up a shaky start into the match, winning the opening set after 45 minutes. Tsurenko was 4-1 up, but it has gone the way of the German.

Görges was repaying German captain Barbara Rittner’s faith in promoting her to team No. 2 ahead of Laura Siegemund. The 28-year-old was calm on the court and secured the decisive break in the seventh game of the second set to serve the match out in the following. Görges capitalized on her second match point after one hour and 28 minutes.

Julia Görges

“I’m just very proud and happy to give the third point to Germany and it was very hard for me to focus today, especially when Angie lost, but I held up mentally and played very well in the deciding moments,” said Goerges, who gave her team an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie

“I was a break down in each set of the second match. So I was also a bit nervous but both matches I played, as well as the other matches I watched from the side line of the court, were highly emotional for me. I think that I will need a couple of days to realize all the action,” she added.

Earlier the day, Elina Svitolina had kept Ukraine in the tie by recording a fourth consecutive win over World No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the first reverse singles rubber. The World No. 13 secured a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

“I tried to take positive things from my loss (to Görges) yesterday and go again today,” said Svitolina at the end of her match. “It worked very good, because of course I made some mistakes, but I made some unbelievable shots and I was very happy the way I finished the match because at 2-0 down I was under pressure.”

Ukraine, however, will have to wait until August when proposed changes to the Fed Cup format are discussed at the ITF AGM in Vietnam to see if they remain in World Group II or join an extended 16-team World Group next year.