Will “mama” or debutante win?
Two Germans steal the show at Wimbledon
7/4/2022, 8:17 p.m
The differences could hardly be greater: on the one hand the young debutante, on the other hand the mother of two who is twelve years older than her. But both Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria impressively made it to the quarter-finals in Wimbledon. They see their duel positively.
The comeback of Serena Williams failed in the first game, even the almost unearthly dominance of the world number one Iga Świątek was broken after 37 wins in a row. The best-known German, Angelique Kerber, was kicked out in the third round. From the top 15 of the Wimbledon seed list, only Tunisian Ons Jabeur and Paula Badosa from Spain are still in the tournament. Instead of the well-known names, two Germans who are relatively unknown to the world face off in the quarter-finals: Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier. One of them will play in the semifinals of the most legendary tennis tournament in the world.
Neither the 34-year-old Maria nor her compatriot, who is twelve years her junior, can really grasp that. Niemeier is a Wimbledon debutant and Maria, although making her tenth appearance in London, has never progressed past the third round of one of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments. Their duel comes unexpectedly, Wimbledon saw Boris Becker twice against Michael Stich and once Angelique Kerber against Sabine Lisicki, but they were already on the tour.
“Incredible to travel with two kids”
Unlike the two Germans, for whom the English press has long since had nothing but friendly things to say. Maria delivers the “story of the tournament,” said the “Daily Mail” benevolently, but mixed dubious praise with astonishment: “It turns out that an older mother could still be the story of these championships.” Actually, this role would have been intended for her neighbor in her adopted country, Serena Williams, who failed early on. Now Maria keeps telling the story of her traveling family tennis business with her husband and trainer Charles-Edouard and their two daughters in German, English and French. “I really take my hat off to how they do it as a family,” enthused Niemeier. “I think it’s incredible to travel with two children.”
Maria has no article – yes, not even this one – that doesn’t admiringly emphasize that the 34-year-old only gave birth to her second daughter Cecilia in April 2021 and has long had other priorities than just being a tennis pro. Her eight-year-old daughter Charlotte plays tennis herself, and training doesn’t stop even during Wimbledon. Every morning at 8.30 a.m. the time has come. Only then does Maria’s day start and with it the preparation for the (so far) most important match of her life.
“Absolute top 20 player”
The “Telegraph” wrote about her opponent, the young Dortmunder Niemeier, that she was an “incredible player who you can somehow imagine holding a beer mug at the Munich Oktoberfest”. The pain of losing local heroine Heather Watson, who shot Niemeier 6: 2, 6: 4 from the 100-year-old Center Court, may have played a role. But they should get used to Niemeier in South West London, because, as the “Guardian” noted, the 22-year-old’s game goes perfectly with the fast turf. Anett Kontaveit, seeded number two, also had to experience this before Watson, who had swept Niemeier straight off the field 6:4, 6:0. “Hard serves, many undercut and deep balls, stops, always going to the net, that’s just my thing,” explained Niemeier.
“In terms of play, she is an absolute top 20 player for me,” said Andrea Petkovic of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” about Niemeier, “she knows that, I tell her that seven to eight times a day”. Because the numbers do not express it (yet). The 22-year-old is 108th in the world rankings, and nothing will change immediately because the WTA will not award any world ranking points in Wimbledon this year as a result of the sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“Only positive things”
So now the duel: “We often play against people we like,” she said of Niemeier before the game on Tuesday. “I think we’re both doing well, going out, playing our best tennis and then everything’s fine again.” And Niemeier didn’t waste a thought on the extraordinary competitive situation either. She is “extremely” happy that a German is definitely in the semi-finals: “For me it only has positive things.”
There is no clear favorite in the match for the semifinals. “In the end it will be a close match with a very open outcome,” said Barbara Rittner of the German Press Agency. “In terms of play, I see Jule a bit ahead because she has an even stronger serve and is able to impose her game more on Tatjana,” said Rittner. On the other hand, this was also the case with the defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapeno in the round of 16, against whom Maria had saved two match points. “Tatjana has shown impressively often enough that she outgrows herself. She will do everything to make it as difficult as possible for Jule.”
It will be about who has the better nerves, neither of them are dogged and obsessed with success: The experienced tactician Maria or Niemeier, who ended up in Regensburg, but whose heart is still in their homeland – especially with their BVB. He congratulates regularly, and Niemeier is now also a household name for the black and yellow football stars. “I actually received a message from Nico Schlotterbeck,” said Niemeier – and Mats Hummels mentioned her in an Insta story. That flatters even her. “I didn’t expect before the tournament that I would be sitting here with so many people knowing my name.”