Tennis: Andrea Petkovic reaches the first final in Hamburg since 2015

Hamburg. Even the famous “Petko-Dance” could still be seen late on Saturday afternoon on the Center Court at Rothenbaum, but that she lacked the strength for an extensive dance, the beaming winner admitted frankly. “I’m too tired to dance and I would like to sleep through the night until 12 noon tomorrow,” said Andrea Petkovic, after being in the semifinals of the Hamburg European Open won the German generation duel with Jule Niemeier (21 / Dortmund) after 2:59 hours of play with 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 4 and 7: 5.

However, the 33-year-old Darmstadt woman should be wide awake again by noon on Sunday at the latest. Then she is called upon to take the last step on the road to success as a tournament ambassador. In the final (12 noon / tennischannel.com) the world number 130 will meet. to the Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse (23 / No. 198), who fought through the qualification and in the first match of the semifinals the top seeded Ukrainian Dajana Jastremska (21 / No. 38) with 2: 6, 6: 1, 6: 4 had defeated.

Petkovic reaches the first WTA final since 2015 in Hamburg

Even if the two have never played against each other on the WTA tour, Petkovic knows exactly what to expect. “I trained with Elena three days before the start of the tournament and then asked my coach who the girl was. She plays really, really well, ”she said. However, the surprise finalist, who has never been in a WTA final, looked bruised after her hard-won work victory over the Ukrainian with a back injury. “I was very tired today. Now I have to do everything I can to regenerate. I’m a fighter and I want this title, even if I have to win it against the crowd’s favorite, ”she said.

Andrea Petkovic is the audience favorite because she knows how to pick up people with her statements in the post-match interviews on the red sand. In 2015 she was in a WTA final in Antwerp (Belgium) and won the last of her six titles so far. “The fact that I am now able to be in a final again here in Hamburg, one of my favorite cities worldwide, is the cherry in the cocktail,” she said – and was applauded frenetically by around 1,000 visitors.

Andrea Petkovic sees a successful future for Jule Niemeier

In the three hours before, however, there had rarely been opportunities for exuberant applause. The game against Jule Niemeier, against whom Petkovic had lost in three sets in qualifying in the first meeting at the end of May in Strasbourg, was too disheveled. The polite way to describe flawed matches like this is that it thrived on the tension – and it undoubtedly did.

The tie-break had to decide in the first set, in the second round Niemeier needed three set balls at 5: 4 and Petkovic’s serve, before Petkovic served the match at 5: 4 – and gave the game to zero. After another break, it was the third match point that made the decision.

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“There were a few balls today that made the difference, and maybe also a little bit of my experience,” said the winner, who frankly admitted “that the next generation is ready to take over, even if the old one survived today” . In fact, Jule Niemeier, currently at position 167 in the world rankings, was able to demonstrate her upward trend and underline why the German Tennis Association thinks very highly of her. “If she stays healthy, she’s the one who can close the performance gap,” said Andrea Petkovic.

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On Sunday, however, she has to take care of the explosion herself in order to be the first German since Steffi Graf to triumph at Rothenbaum in 1992. There is also the small incentive to do the same with Angelique Kerber. In preparation for Wimbledon, the 33-year-old from Kiel won the lawn tournament in Bad Homburg, which she accompanies as a tournament ambassador. “Maybe that’s a good omen,” said Petkovic.

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