ZHUHAI: Germany’s Julia Goerges stormed to victory at the WTA Elite Trophy on Sunday, hammering number two seed CoCo Vandeweghe in the final to claim her second title of the year.

The 29-year-old made an unexpected comeback in the first set to take down the fiery Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-1 in Zhuhai, China, as fellow German and tennis legend Steffi Graf watched from the stands.

With the title, Goerges is set to end the season with a career-high ranking of world number 14.

She joins other Elite Trophy winners Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams.

Vandeweghe started off strong in the first set — easily breaking Goerges in the second game and holding serve in the next to give her a 3-0 lead.

But Goerges clung on, finally breaking serve in the ninth game and setting herself up for a fantastic comeback.—AFP