Jule Niemeier cheered incredulously her sensational coup over the third in the world rankings and received appreciative praise from Angelique Kerber. Led by the Wimbledon debutant and the 2018 winner, four German tennis pros stormed into the third round of the grass classic.
The most unexpected success came from 22-year-old Niemeier, who didn’t give second seeded Anett Kontaveit from Estonia a chance and celebrated the greatest moment of her career so far. Before her own victory, Kerber also watched Niemeier’s second set. “I’m happy for her, she did really well,” said the German number one. Oscar Otte benefited from the resignation of his opponent after just 15 minutes, Tatjana Maria completed the German quartet.
“I’m speechless to be honest. Winning the game on Court 1 in Wimbledon is a great feeling,” said Niemeier himself after the 6: 4, 6: 0 in just 58 minutes, overwhelmed on the pitch. A little later she was self-confident in her dry manner: “I think I can actually beat almost every opponent who is here. I showed that today as well.”
Kerber: “I’m satisfied with my performance”
Kerber also knows this feeling. The 34-year-old had more trouble than Niemeier, but also completed her task in the 6: 3, 6: 3 against Magda Linette from Poland without any major problems. “It was a solid match for me,” said Kerber. “I’m happy with my performance and I’m glad I won that in straight sets.”
She is in the top 32 for the ninth time in the classic grass field and is also a clear favorite against Belgian Elise Mertens or Panna Udvardy from Hungary. “I’m trying to constantly play my lawn tennis, to remain aggressive even in the important moments.” After 85 minutes, the Kiel native converted her first match point and this year in Wimbledon is still without losing a set.
Oscar Otte went much faster into the next round. Opponent Christian Harrison from the USA gave up after only 15 minutes at a score of 3:1 for Otte in the first set. “I was very surprised. I noticed straight away that he couldn’t move, but it’s still Wimbledon,” said the man from Cologne, who was happy about the saved energy: “Sure, that helps.”
Niemeier collects more than 138,000 euros
Otte, German number one in Wimbledon without the missing Olympic champion Alexander Zverev injured, is now dealing with the young Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz. Maria then reached the third round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career after 2015 with a 6:3, 1:6, 7:5 against the Romanian Sorana Cirstea. “It was up and down,” said the mother of two. “It means a lot to me. 2015 was the first Wimbledon with (daughter) Charlotte. And it’s the first time I’ve played Wimbledon with two children.” Maria now has a very difficult task against number five seeded Greek Maria Sakkari.
While the 34-year-old Maria was also an outsider, Niemeier managed a real coup. In her duel with a top ten player, after a balanced start, she dominated her number two opponent at will. “Very strong and let’s keep going,” congratulated women’s national coach Barbara Rittner. For the biggest success of her career, Niemeier collects more than 138,000 euros and now meets Lessia Zurenko from Ukraine.
Last year, Niemeier narrowly missed the first jump into the Wimbledon main draw and, after the French Open a month ago, is only taking part in a Grand Slam for the second time. “I’m trying to absorb everything here, I still don’t quite know where to go,” she said before the match about her experience at Wimbledon, where she also admired Rafael Nadal during training. At the beginning of June, the Borussia Dortmund football fan won the first title on the WTA tour at the tournament in Makarska, Croatia.
With overview and playfulness
An experienced German had believed her capable of this for a long time. “I’m counting on her in the hope that she stays healthy and injury-free, that’s the most important thing,” said 34-year-old Andrea Petkovic about Niemeier. “In terms of play, she is an absolute top 20 player for me. She knows that, I tell her that seven or eight times a day.”
In the second largest Wimbledon stadium, Niemeier showed no nerves from the start and kept up with Kontaveit. With overview and wit, she put her opponent under pressure and used her second set ball after 32 minutes with a finely placed long forehand.
Kontaveit showed nerves, conceded another break due to a double fault right at the beginning of the second set. Niemeier pulled away easily and mercilessly exploited her opponent’s weaknesses. After another mistake by Kontaveit, the coup was complete.
