Tatjana Maria is in the semifinals of Wimbledon
Quelle: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Tatjana Maria celebrates her greatest success at the age of 34: the mother of two is in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. In the German duel, she prevails against Jule Niemeier, who is twelve years her junior.
EIt was something like the duel of the generations: Tatjana Maria, 34 years old, against Jule Niemeier, 22. What both had in common: For the first time ever, they fought for the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. In the end, the concentrated routine prevailed against youthful ease: Maria won 4: 6, 6: 2 and 7: 5 – and is now in the semi-finals on Thursday in Wimbledon.
With the young German hope from Dortmund, the actually more active player lost the match. Niemeier was usually more variable than her compatriot from Bad Saulgau. She was the boss in the ring, especially at the beginning, dictating the game with aggressive baseline shots and clever net attacks.
Jule Niemeier on a backhand
Source: dpa/Zac Goodwin
Maria, on the other hand, showed what had brought her to the quarterfinals of the tennis classic: a strong serve at up to 185 km/h and several slice balls, which can sometimes turn out to be an irritating factor for the opponent. That had already been a pioneering tool when she beat number twelve seeded Jelena Ostapenko in the last sixteen. Afterwards, the Latvian complained bitterly about the passive game played by the Germans: “She didn’t do anything, just waited for my mistakes,” said Ostapenko.
Talent versus running miracle
In the duel between the two Germans on Tuesday afternoon in London, however, that was initially not the best way for Maria to succeed against Niemeier. Already in her first service game she conceded a decisive break to 0: 1, she finally gave up the set 4: 6. Well deserved: Because Niemeier was much more active than the old master.
Anyone who sensed a small preliminary decision in favor of Borussia Dortmund football fans was disappointed. Because while Niemeier made many unforced mistakes, especially with the forehand, Maria improved significantly. Not only did she serve hard, she developed into a true running miracle that never lost a ball. In addition, many of their cut shots provided points. The reward for the effort: The second set went to the mother of two with a score of 6:2.
So the decision had to be made in the third round – and here it went back and forth. Niemeier was 4:2 ahead after a break and already looked like the winner. Then suddenly Mary led 5:4 and 6:5. And when she actually had two match points shortly afterwards, she used the first for a somewhat surprising victory.
“I have goosebumps everywhere. It was such a difficult match against Jule,” enthused Maria to the cheers of the spectators. “Today we really made Germany proud.” Niemeier proudly said goodbye after the biggest success of her career and formed a heart with her hands.
Maria collects the equivalent of 622,000 euros for her success and now meets the winner of the match between world number two Ons Jabeur from Tunisia and Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic. After the previous winners Steffi Graf and Angelique Kerber as well as Sabine Lisicki, Julia Görges and Bettina Bunge, she is only the sixth German semi-finalist in the history of professional tennis at Wimbledon. “It’s a dream to live with my family and my two little daughters,” said Maria, recalling Cecilia’s birth in early April 2021. “I gave birth a good year ago. It’s crazy.”
