Wimbledon: Jule Niemeier is not worried about Tatjana Maria's slice
Jule Niemeier against Tatjana Maria - it's quarterfinal day in Wimbledon 2022. And the big question is also: How will Niemeier cope with the so special Maria game?
by Florian Goosman from Wimbledon
last edit: Jul 04, 2022, 10:06 pm
Of course, it's usually about good losers or bad ones - like Jelena Ostapenko, for example . But winning "well" is one thing. And Jule Niemeier is a good winner, you have to realize that.
After the converted match point against Heather Watson on Sunday afternoon, Niemeier could of course have jumped wildly across the pitch from sheer jubilation after her greatest career success. The 22-year-old dropped the racket in relief, looked into her box in disbelief, trotted forward to the net and hugged her opponent. She then apologized during the on-court interview for taking a Brit out. Which in turn brought her great applause.
"It was a mixture of everything," said Niemeier when asked whether her lack of celebration was due to simple relief or out of respect for her opponent. "I played on Center Court, one of the biggest courts on the tour. And then against a Brit. There would be no point in celebrating yourself." But she didn't really realize everything at that moment, her solid performance from the first to the last point. "I surprised myself a bit," said Niemeier, also regarding her premiere on what is perhaps the most famous court in the world.
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Niemeier on the Maria Slice: "Knows how to deal with it"
So Maria and Niemeier is the name of the surprise quarter-finals, two German players - who don't know each other too well, as Maria revealed in her press conference earlier. They played a league game together, Maria said, but that was pretty much it. Niemeier, however, is of course familiar with Maria, has great respect for how she would manage everything, traveling alone with her family, with two small children, she explained admiringly. And of course Niemeier also knows about the special game of the 34-year-olds.
Maria herself had said these days that she felt the opponents' respect in the run-up to her game, "I know that everyone is stressed, even before the match," she said after her success about Maria Sakkari. But Niemeier? After all, she is one who can master a technically clean slice.
"I don't really have that many problems with it," said Niemeier accordingly. "Because I also know how to play a slice myself, how to add a stop. You also know how to deal with it when a slice comes back."
Maria's slice, Niemeier's powerful but variable game, also with a net finish - it could be another exciting game here in the quarter-finals, perhaps with the advantage for the younger of the two.
Of course, the question is also who keeps their nerves, because one thing is clear: a German player will definitely be in the semi-finals. And there will also be chances for more.
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