Wimbledon 2022, quarter-finals, Tuesday, 05/07/2022
There will be a German player in the semi-finals of Wimbledon! This information alone is a small sensation, but if you look at the two players who will contest the black-red-gold quarter-final on Tuesday, you won’t believe your eyes.
Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier, neither of them among the top 90 players in the world, are playing the tournament of their lives in London. One is in her mid-30s, the other just in her early 20s, and yet they are both on the verge of the very biggest success.
In my Maria Niemeier tip, I reveal why I think it’s worth betting on the favourite!
Admittedly, there was some flirtation that Angelique Kerber might make it far at Wimbledon, but that was actually the end of the German hopes on the women’s side.
Now the third Grand Slam of the year is a good week away and has produced two quarter-finalists who probably can’t quite believe their luck yet. Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier rocked Wimbledon and thrilled the tennis world!
And now? One of them will definitely make it to the semi-finals. If expert Barbara Rittner is to be believed, it’s the little things and the better form of the day that decide in the end. Tatjana Maria just made it into the main draw as the world No. 102.
She dropped the first set of the tournament against Astra Sharma and only then did she get rolling. After that 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, her opponents got tougher and tougher, starting with Sorana Cirstea, whom she beat in three sets.
Hardly anyone expected her to be able to take on Maria Sakkari afterwards, but the German managed a sensational 6-3, 7-5. Maria was also in the clear underdog role against Jelena Ostapenko.
5-7, 7-5, 7-5, fending off two match points, she played as if she was at home among the world’s elite. The crowd supported the 34-year-old famously, who ended up putting a strong 89% of her first serve over the net and breaking six times.
Afterwards, she celebrated the greatest moment of her career in the presence of her family. Knowing full well that she will now meet her compatriot Jule Niemeier, who is having a completely surprising tournament.
Twelve years younger and six centimetres taller, but no less successful, the Dortmund native is the second tennis sensation from a German perspective. She has never met Tatjana Maria in a competitive match before, and now in such an incredibly big match.
She had already shown her ability by winning sets against Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina in Bad Homburg and Berlin, but now the knot is completely bursting. After her 6-1, 6-4 in the 1st round against Xiyu Wang, Niemeier delivered her greatest feat of all
6-4, 6-0 against Annet Kontaveit, the world number three! After this surprise, the following match against Lesia Tsurenko was so very different. At 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, the German gave away 19 break opportunities! Kontaveit, on the other hand, did not get a single one.
Against Heather Watson, Niemeier’s strength on her own serve returned. The pressure was on, as her British opponent had the crowd on her side. But even that was no disadvantage in the end, with a 6-2, 6-4 score on the scoreboard.
Two break chances only for Watson, the service worked excellently. On Tuesday, she will also try to impose her powerful game on Tatjana Maria. If you believe Barbara Rittner, this could be exactly where a small advantage lies.
Those who look to Wimbledon with a German eye can only be thrilled by the women’s matches.
Who wins the direct duel will probably also be decided by a bit of luck. Both beat real top stars in London and showed nerves of steel. It’s tiny little things that make me come down to a favourite.
In my eyes, it’s Niemeier, who is the slightly stronger mentally and brings her game through a bit better. But no matter who comes out on top in the end, it’s a victory for German tennis either way!
My tip: Niemeier wins against Maria!
