US Open: McEnroe on Niemeier - "She got game"
Jule Niemeier also convinced tennis legend John McEnroe with her performance against Iga Swiatek on Labor Day.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 06, 2022, 08:54 am
John McEnroe was actually busy with the match between Rafael Nadal and Frances Tiafoe on Monday afternoon. The parade New Yorker dared to take a look at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. And came to the following conclusion: "Niemeier got game." That was meant as the highest compliment, paraphrasing Spike Lee's film "He Got Game," which celebrates the remarkable skills of a college basketball player (played by Ray Allen). will.
And indeed: Jule Niemeier has already shown at Wimbledon what a large arsenal of punches she can use profitably. What McEnroe might have noticed there - after all, the 23-year-old from Dortmund is already building the quarter-finals there. She was (still) denied this step in New York, but at some point Iga Swiatek found her way into the match and in the end knew how to exploit her opponent's smaller and larger weaknesses.
Kas and Niemeier - they go well together
However: After the 2: 6, 6: 4 and 6: 0, Swiatek was more relieved than happy at a sovereign winner. In the first and also at the beginning of the second sentence, the world number one was simply overwhelmed by Niemeier. Swiatek couldn't do anything with the hard hits on her forehand, in this phase Niemeier's serve worked well exactly when the German needed it the most. That should change as the match progressed, 13 double faults were just too many in the end.
Jule Niemeier, perfectly set by Christopher Kas, was close to creating a formidable surprise, no matter how smoothly the third movement went to pieces. Because Kas, the old gambler and tennis genius, has many ideas on how his protégé can best win. And because Jule Niemeier, a bit of a gambler herself, can also implement these ideas. A stop as a return? Ever serve and volley on the second serve? But yes!
Niemeier will reach a new career high next Monday with 73rd place, it will not be the end of the road. If she stays healthy. And if she continues to gamble as before. And why shouldn't she?
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