UA look at her prize money alone could be enough to gauge the dimension of this game in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for Jule Niemeier. Niemeier is 22 years old. So she has already spent some time on the tennis tour, has tried, often failed early on, has not had any great triumphs so far. Up until this summer, her name was only known to experts. But this match this Tuesday against Tatjana Maria, this German duel, gives her more prize money in one fell swoop than she has pocketed in her entire career. It is 360,000 euros.
But that seems to be just bycatch at the moment, for both of them. Good for planning the next few months though. “This way I can travel with a physio,” says Niemeier. But basically everything that is happening around the two is too big and unbelievable at the moment. Too much sensation and emotion to think about your own account for a long time. Two women can be observed in London at the moment, who don’t seem to understand the miraculous things they have accomplished.
Greetings from BVB stars
One is a former soccer player and as a Dortmund fan of BVB. Congratulations came from there after the 6: 2, 6: 4 in the round of 16 against the British Heather Watson. Borussia defense chief Mats Hummels paid tribute to Niemeier in his Instagram story, teammate Nico Schlotterbeck wrote her a message. “Before the tournament, I didn’t expect that I would be sitting here and that so many people would know my name,” she says.
The other is a mother of two, 15 months after the birth of her second daughter Cecilia, Maria is playing the lawn classic again for the first time. At her last appearance at Wimbledon, the 34-year-old from Baden-Württemberg was already pregnant. She is coached by her husband Charles-Edouard, while eight-year-old Charlotte likes to scurry around the pitch with a racquet.
On the day of the round of 16, Charlotte initially had indoor training at half past eight, after which her mother got involved in her game. And after the 5: 7, 7: 5, 7: 5 against the number twelve seeded and former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, she picked up her two daughters from the tournament’s childcare and was a mom again. “Nothing has changed for either of them, whether I win or lose,” she says.
Maria is in a Grand Slam tournament for the 35th time, she never even made it to the round of 16. For Niemeier, after the French Open in spring and the exit in round one, it is only the second appearance in one of the four major tournaments. She still doesn’t quite know where to walk on the Wimbledon grounds, she admitted.
Niemeier has long been considered one of the greatest talents in the second generation after Kerber, Petkovic and Görges. However, her high school diploma, several injuries and the halt to the sports world at the beginning of the corona pandemic slowed her rise at times.
“She was about to take off just before Corona,” says women’s national coach Barbara Rittner: “She missed the matches. I’ve always said that if she stays calm and keeps working and doesn’t lose her head and gets restless, she’ll go her own way.” This led to the number 97 in the world confidently beating Anett, third in the world rankings, in the second round Kontaveit from Estonia.
Maria and Niemeier played for the Bundesliga team in Essen
Maria, who lives in Florida, also knows how to fight. 14 years ago, a thrombosis on the leg was discovered, it was in mortal danger for some time. Her father, who had accompanied her to tournaments, died a little later. “A few things happened to me that automatically make you stronger,” she says of her strokes of fate, “and if you have children, you have to be strong too.”
In any case, the English “Daily Mail” wrote in amazement: “It turns out that an older mother could still be the story of these championships.” Actually, this role would have been intended for Serena Williams, who failed early on, who is Maria’s neighbor in Florida.
The question now is which of the two Germans will be stronger this Tuesday from 2.30 p.m. at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Does youth triumph over experience? You don’t really know Niemeier yet, reports Maria. Both of them played together at the Bredeney tennis club in Essen this year in the Bundesliga. “I’ve never really seen them play, though,” Maria said.
Niemeier can serve well, make the match variable, has a powerful forehand, the backhand slice, she can go to the net and has a lot of feeling in her hand. On a good day she is able to hold her own against the best on any surface. It is quite possible that she is able to impose her game more on her opponents due to her stronger serve compared to Maria. What she has lacked in her career so far, however, has been consistency. “In terms of play, she is an absolute top 20 player for me. She knows that, I tell her seven to eight times a day,” says her doubles partner Andrea Petkovic.
For Niemeier and Petkovic (right) in doubles at Wimbledon in the second round against the favored Chinese duo Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan it was over
Those: pa / dpa / Frank Molter
Maria, on the other hand, unnerves her opponents primarily with her unconventional style of play, which has gone out of fashion in modern tennis. She plays a lot of undercut balls with both the backhand and the forehand, which bounce off flat, especially on grass. With these slice balls, Maria likes to get to the net quickly on an opponent’s serve to build up pressure.
“I know that everyone is stressed because of my style of play, even before the match,” she says: “That’s why it’s an advantage for me, especially here on grass, that I know that I can definitely hurt and everyone can hurt me treat them with respect as an opponent.” And then there’s daughter Charlotte. “She loves the lifestyle on the tour,” reports Maria: “She always tells me: I want to stay here, so you have to win today.”
