Wimbledon: Tatjana Maria against Jule Niemeier - An unexpected duel on the big stage
Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria : The differences between the Wimbledon surprises could hardly be greater. You a of respect and the goal semifinals.
by SID
last edit: Jul 04, 2022, 07:07 pm
Novak Djokovic was to blame for Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria getting very close in the afternoon before the German Wimbledon festival. The Serb did not stick to the training plan and boldly occupied the court that coach Christopher Kas had booked. Niemeier dodged without a murmur - and met Maria after an hour.
No problem for the surprise quarter-finalists, they like each other, they know each other from the Tennis Bundesliga. "What time is it?" Niemeier asked. "You still have time," answered Maria. There was no more exchange, then both went back to their routines.
It will be the same on Tuesday before they meet on Court 1 (from 2 p.m. CEST / Sky). Maria will get up early. That's how it is with two children - someone has to accompany daughter Charlotte to tennis lessons. Niemeier will probably check the news on Instagram in the morning, but under no circumstances will he look at the newspapers.
Jule Niemeier: "I didn't read a single article"
"I'm trying to hide that completely," she said after defeating Briton Heather Watson: "I haven't read a single article yet." Even if the words mostly sound very positive: "In the end I can't buy anything from it."
And not always such friendly lines are written as about Maria, the "story of the tournament" (Daily Mail). From time to time, praise also expresses astonishment at the newcomer's run - and that's not very flattering. Niemeier, the Telegraph wrote, was an "incredible player who you can kind of imagine holding a beer mug at the Munich Oktoberfest."
The pain of losing the local heroine, who shot Niemeier from the 100-year-old Center Court on a British holiday, may have played a role. But they should get used to Niemeier in south-west London as, as the Guardian noted, the 22-year-old's game suits the fast turf perfectly. Like Maria's gross undercut. And yet "nobody expected this quarter-final," said the 34-year-old.
Niemeier is a Wimbledon debutant and Maria has never progressed past the third round of one of the world's biggest tennis tournaments, gave birth to her second daughter Cecilia in April 2021 and has long since changed her priorities. Eight-year-old Charlotte's daily tennis lesson at 8.30 a.m. in the Wimbledon training hall is one of them. Only then does Maria's day and the preparation for the (so far) most important match of her life begin.
Tatjana Maria appreciates success even more now"
"That's not going to change," said Maria after repelling two match points against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and writing the next chapter of her fairytale adventure at Wimbledon. You can now "perhaps even appreciate the amazing triumph more because I have more important things in my life than tennis."
Neither of them are dogged and obsessed with success: the experienced tactician from Bad Saulgau, who has long lived with her family in Florida, right next door to the Williams sisters. And neither does the young woman from Dortmund, who ended up in Regensburg, but whose heart is still in her home country - especially with her BVB.
He congratulates regularly, and Niemeier is now also a household name for the black and yellow football stars. "I actually received a message from Nico Schlotterbeck," said Niemeier - and Mats Hummels mentioned her in an Insta story. That flatters even her.