Only after the second loss of serve did Niemeier wake up and show the qualities that have earned her the reputation of a German tennis hope: A sensitive stop just centimeters behind the net and a passing ball from a full sprint – then she had set point and benefited from one of the rare mistakes Zurenkos.
“It is important that I continue to develop in all areas”
She doesn’t play as spectacularly as Niemeier, but with the experience of ten Wimbledon starts she is solid and powerful. Niemeier also needed a wake-up call in the second half to find her game. Again she gave up her serve twice, again she was 0:3 behind and again she laboriously worked her way back. But Zurenko resisted.
How quickly Niemeier learns, she proved in the decisive third set. “It’s important that I continue to develop in all areas so that I can win even on days when things don’t go well,” she said after defeating Kontaveit. For a long time there was little going on against Zurenko, and yet it was enough for the round of 16.
The wild card, which the German Tennis Association had ready for the small tournament in Versmold in Westphalia next week, can now be given elsewhere by the association. Niemeier remains on the most important tennis stage in the world.