Alexander Zverev was waiting. And waited. And waited. And in the end he waited in vain. The Hamburg player was not allowed on the court at the 136th All England Championships on Wednesday either. After the completely rainy Tuesday, further precipitation had again distorted the game plan in Wimbledon so much that his late match on court 2 was not even started. The same applied to Jule Niemeier. Try again: on Thursday.
Tatjana Maria and Yannick Hanfmann finished their matches on Wednesday – but to their chagrin they were not successful. Maria (35), who wrote a fairytale story last year with her completely surprising entry into the semifinals, lost in the first round this time. Just like Hanfmann, who missed a big coup almost 48 hours after the start of his five-set match against world number ninth Taylor Fritz (USA).
“I’m a bit sad that it ended so early,” but what she achieved last year “will always stay with me,” said Maria after the 1: 6, 6: 2, 3: 6 against Sorana Cirstea from Romania, against whom she had won 7-5 in the third set in the second round a year earlier. “Last year I was lucky, this time her,” added Maria, who missed her only chance of a break in the third set.
Tatjana Maria: this time it’s only enough for one match: picture: dpa
Maria’s two daughters, Charlotte (9) and Cecilia (2), shouldn’t like the result either: They had hoped for a repeat of the previous year so that, as the mother reported, they could use childcare in Wimbledon for as long as possible. Especially Charlotte, who is a great tennis talent herself and “will be a bit sad”.
Almost three quarters of an hour after Maria, Hanfmann also had to pack his bag with his head bowed. His match against Fritz started around 6:00 p.m. local time on Monday and ended shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, almost two full days later – without the big coup. After three hours of play he lost 4:6, 6:2, 6:4, 5:7, 3:6.
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“I’m disappointed, that was a bit too short today,” said Hanfmann after the new recording had only lasted 13 minutes. The man from Karlsruhe, who at the age of 31 is playing his best season so far and has advanced to 45th place in the world rankings , mourned his missed chances in the fourth set, “it’s a shame I didn’t take them”. Instead, from the 2:2 Fritz had gained a lot of security on the serve and the forehand.
Tamara Korpatsch from Hamburg took advantage of her unexpected chance: The 28-year-old number 122 in the world rankings, who only subsequently moved into the main draw as a “lucky loser” after failing to qualify, defeated Carol Zhao from Canada 1: 6, 6: 4, 6: 2 – and is in her fifth Grand Slam participation for the first time in the second round.
2023-07-05 19:16:00
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