Wimbledon 2022, Round of 16, Sunday, 03.07.2022
In the men’s singles, the round of 16 at Wimbledon will unfortunately take place without German participation. No reason for sadness, however, because a double fairytale is taking place in the women’s singles.
A young, fresh player and a real veteran, Germany is represented twice here! Jule Niemeier has been floating through the tournament on a cloud so far and has already beaten a real top player.
On Sunday, she faces the biggest match of her career so far.
In my Watson Niemeier tip I reveal why I would bet on a close, longer match!
It was only a few weeks ago in Paris that Jule Niemeier stepped onto the big stage in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, eliminated directly in the 1st round. Hardly anyone kept an eye on the 22-year-old during her preparation on grass.
Then, at a small tournament in Croatia, she made people sit up and take notice by winning the trophy. Slightly, after all, she only beat players ranked below her there. Quick defeats followed in Berlin and Bad Homburg.
But if you look closely, you can already see the first signs of her current explosion in performance. She won sets against Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina, both of whom are definitely among the world’s best.
Once she arrived in London, Niemeier really got going. After her 6-1, 6-4 win over China’s Xiyu Wang, she faced Anett Kontaveit, the world number three. The German managed a match she will probably remember forever.
6-4, 6-0, not a single break chance allowed, what a performance! She then felt the pressure of being the favourite when it came to Lesia Tsurenko. It was a very different match from the one against Kontaveit.
The result: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for Niemeier. It was a true break festival, Tsurenko took ten of 19 chances, Niemeier a strong eleven of twelve. Her own yield? Fabulous. But to offer 19 chances to break and against Kontaveit none at all?
At only 22, Niemeier is not yet able to play as consistently as she would like. The ten double faults also show how nervous she understandably was. The pressure increases on Sunday because she has to play against a rival who is at home here in England.
Heather Watson will have the crowd on her side. She already beat Niemeier in Monterry a few months ago, snatching a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 in a real thriller.
At the German bookmakers it is nevertheless the German who is ahead. 1,50 to 2,60 on average, whether this underdog role even helps Watson? The Brit is 30 years old and has countless Grand Slam appearances to her name.
But a round of 16 is completely new territory for her, too. She already knows what it’s like to knock a German out of the tournament, as she beat Tamara Korpatsch 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round.
This was followed by a smooth but hard-fought win (7-5, 6-4) against Wang Qiang. Watson played her 3rd round match against Kaja Juvan. In the first set, they fought again, the tiebreak went to the Brit. The following 6-2 was much more confident.
Four double faults in three games, the 30-year-old seems to have strong nerves here. She will be hoping to get off to a good start in the match from the first minute with her fans behind her, as it will also be arguably the most important moment of her career.
My Watson Niemeier Tip
Jule Niemeier is inspiring everyone in London. Her nervousness made itself felt a bit in the 3rd round, 19 break chances distributed is an incredible number. On Sunday, she not only has to play against Heather Watson, but also against the audience.
The Brit has had three rather close results, but is driven by the crowd. This year she already won a duel against Niemeier in three sets. For this round of 16, I can only imagine a close result. Therefore my tip is:
We see more than 20.5 Games!
