US Open: Jule Niemeier continues to soar and is in the round of 16 – now favorite Iga Swiatek is waiting

“I expected a very difficult match – and that’s what happened against a very good and dangerous player. So I’m extremely happy that I won in two sets,” explained Jule Niemeier in Eurosport Interview.

The Westphalian confirmed her performance from Wimbledon with the next concentrated performance, when it was only in the quarter-finals against Tatjana Maria that it was over and she did surprisingly well in her major debut on hard court.

It is already clear that Niemeier will significantly improve on her previous world ranking of 108.

This year, Niemeier succeeds in depositing her business card with the majors.

The powerful Westphalian is Germany’s greatest hope at the beginning of a new phase in German women’s tennis, in which Angelique Kerber (baby break) and Andrea Petkovic (end of career) will be missing.

Successful late shift for Niemeier

Niemeier had to wait a long time for the start of the match against Zheng, number 39 in the world rankings, who had reached the third round of the third Grand Slam in a row.

All of the previous encounters were completed shortly before 9:00 p.m. local time. Niemeier felt her way into the match and then took control with a strong service, scoring four aces in the first set.

“Above all, staying variable is very important to me,” her trainer Christopher Kas said before the duel, and Niemeier varied the serve and occasionally threw in a slice.

Niemeier makes up for a deficit of 1: 4

She had fought her way into the third round with concentrated performances against former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin and hot-headed Kazakh Yulia Putintseva and also earned the set lead against Zheng.

In the second round, Zheng pulled away to 4:1, Niemeier remained patient and equalized, but missed break chances to make it 5:4.

Niemeier hot for a duel with Swiatek: “Extremely cool”

A little later, after a total of one hour and 50 minutes, she had secured the exciting duel with Swiatek in the tie-break with strong nerves. The Pole won her second-round match 6-3, 6-4 against Lauren Davis. However, the game was much closer than the result says.

The favorite needed almost two hours to put Davis in her place.

“It’s a highlight to play against the best player at the moment, hopefully on the biggest court. It’s extremely cool that I have this opportunity so early on,” said Niemeier, who is meeting the Pole for the first time in her career.

(SID)