The Wimbledon fairy tale of debutant Jule Niemeier and the wonderful journey of experienced Tatjana Maria continues. They meet in the quarter-finals. Defending champion Novak Djokovic is also in the last eight.
Tatjana Maria thought first of her family – then of tennis Germany. “That’s great. One of us is definitely in the semi-finals. No one would have thought that.” Indeed, neither Maria nor Jule Niemeier were to be expected before Wimbledon, they meet again on Tuesday. The exit? Totally open. Both bring confidence and class to the grass.
On a memorable day of the Round of 16 at the All England Club, their fellow Bundesliga players won the hearts of fans on the big stage and fought their way through to the next round. With an irrepressible will, Maria turned a match against the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko which she believed lost and won 5:7, 7:5, 7:5, fending off two match points. Niemeier triumphed over Heather Watson (6:2, 6:4) on center court on a public holiday and apologized in embarrassment.
“Sorry to dump a Brit today,” the 22-year-old said, winning sympathy from onlookers in the century-old tennis sanctuary. Before Niemeier’s match, two dozen champions enjoyed themselves there, including Angelique Kerber, record holder Roger Federer, Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg. Everyone came for the birthday, some stayed for Niemeier, and what they saw must have convinced them.
The fearless newcomer acted aggressively and served well. Just like in the first two rounds and much improved in terms of play compared to the shaky victory over Lesia Zurenko on Friday. The historical scene, the stars and superstars as well as the thousands of his opponent’s local supporters: all this only seemed to motivate Niemeier.
Wimbledon: Tatjana Maria at the start for the tenth time
Her victory, national coach Barbara Rittner proudly said in an interview with SID, was “impressive proof that there is still something to come after the golden generation”. It’s surprising that it happened so quickly. After all, Niemeier is playing at Wimbledon for the first time.
Tatjana Maria is here for the tenth time – and stronger than ever. “I’m very proud of German women’s tennis these days,” Rittner said. Also on Maria, who needed all her strength and the support of the fans for the first quarter-final entry of a Grand Slam – the fourth round was already a first.
They love the mother of two with the unusual release, Maria feels it at every turn. If not for the spectators, she wouldn’t have made her comeback against former French Open winner Ostapenko, she said: “They’ve always been there, and if they believe in me, then I believe in me too.”
His family is still there too. Her husband Charles Edouard and their two daughters Charlotte and Cécile. “It makes me so proud to be a mom, it’s the best thing in the world. I love it, I love my kids and being able to experience this with them,” Maria said.
Rittner also had additional praise for her: “It’s amazing that she can play her best tennis with her tactical masterstroke on grass and fight her way to the quarter-finals with the greatest fighting spirit”, she said. Strange but true. A German holiday awaits you at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Defending champion Djokovic confident in quarter-finals
Defending champion Novak Djokovic barely gave Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven a chance in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The six-time tournament winner from Serbia prevailed 6:2, 4:6, 6:1, 6:2 late on Sunday evening and thus ended a series of 104 world rankings.
Van Rijthoven surprisingly triumphed in the preparatory tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and was subsequently given a wild card by the All England Club. The 25-year-old, who hadn’t won a match on the ATP Tour until ‘s-Hertogenbosch, was also convincing at Wimbledon.
His run ended against Djokovic, although he briefly stole third in the world rankings and surprisingly won the second set. As a result, however, the 35-year-old tournament favorite has turned up the heat.
In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will face Jannik Sinner on Tuesday. In the duel of young stars, the Italian beat Spanish shooting star Carlos Alcaraz 6:1, 6:4, 6:7 (8:10), 6:3.
Against world number 13. Alcaraz fell behind from the start. After just 32 minutes, the tennis scene climber lost the opening set, after which his opponent successfully defended an early break to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third round tie-break, Alcaraz saved two match points and forced the Italian into the fourth set. There, after 3h35 of play, Sinner took advantage of his sixth chance to win.
Wimbledon: Czech Bouzkova in quarter-final against Jabeur
Despite the defeats of two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and last year’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova, a Czech girl can hope for the title in the All England Club. Marie Bouzkova (23) reached a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time with a 7:5, 6:2 win over France’s Caroline Garcia.
She meets Ons Jabeur, third seed on Tuesday, and winner of the preparatory tournament in Berlin. The Tunisian beat Elise Mertens (Belgium), who eliminated Angelique Kerber (Kiel) in the third round, 7:6 (11:9), 6:4.
Bouzkova or Jabeur will meet the winner of the German duel between Tatjana Maria (Bad Saulgau) and Jule Niemeier (Dortmund) in the semi-final on Thursday. As in the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Wimbledon women’s final takes place on Saturday.
Wimbledon: Venus Williams eliminated in mixed
American Venus Williams (42), five-time individual winner, was eliminated in the round of 16 on her return to Wimbledon alongside Briton Jamie Murray. The pair lost in a thriller tiebreak to Great Britain’s Jonny O’Mara/Alicia Barnett 6:3, 4:6, 6:7 (16:18).
The eldest of the two Williams sisters had returned to the tennis scene after a nearly year-long hiatus at the All England Club, but had only competed in mixed doubles.
Serena Williams (40) has also made her comeback at Wimbledon after a long break from singles. However, the 23-time Grand Slam winner failed in the first round of the French Harmony Tan.
Wimbledon, Day 7: Round of 16 at a glance
| time | player 1 | player 2 | results |
| 12:00 p.m. | Marie Bouzkova (CZE) | Caroline Garcia (FRA) | 7:5, 6:2 |
| 2 p.m. | Tatjana Maria (Germany) | Elena Ostapenko (LAT/12) | 5:7, 7:5, 7:5 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Heather Watson (GBR) | Jule Niemeier (Germany) | 2:6, 4:6 |
| 5:30 p.m.* | Elise Mertens (BEL/24) | Ons Jabeur (DO/3) | 6:7, 4:6 |
| time | player 1 | player 2 | results |
| 1:30 p.m. | David Goffin (BEL) | Francis Tiafoe (FRA) | 7:6, 5:7, 5:7, 6:4, 7:5 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Cameron Norrie (GRB/9) | Tommy Paul (US/30) | 6:4, 7:5, 6:4 |
| 4 p.m. | Jannik Sinner (ITA/10) | Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/5) | 6:1, 6:4, 6:7, 6:3 |
| 6 p.m.* | Novak Djokovic (SRB/1) | Tim van Rijthoven (NED) | 6:2, 4:6, 6:1, 6:2 |
*estimated start
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