A messed up day for Germany’s tennis women at the Billie Jean King Cup: Jule Niemeier weakens her serve against France and Tatjana Maria is injured.
The German tennis women suffered their second defeat in a completely messed up second group game at the Billie Jean King Cup. After Jule Niemeier initially lost at the start of the group duel with France in Seville on Friday (November 10th, 2023), Tatjana Maria had to give up a little later.
The 36-year-old Swabian was leading 3-0 against Varvara Gracheva when she called in the German team doctor at the break and decided not to continue playing.
Second game, second early defeat
One day after the 3-0 defeat against Italy, the next defeat was once again determined prematurely. This means that team boss Rainer Schüttler’s selection finishes last in the preliminary group in the final round of the team competition.
The double no longer has any significance for the outcome of the match. Both teams no longer had a chance of reaching the semi-finals, and Italy is already the winner of the group.
Break festival by Niemeier and Burel
In a strange match, Niemeier initially missed the German tennis women’s first victory at this year’s finals. The 24-year-old from Dortmund lost to the Frenchwoman Clara Burel 4:6, 3:6.
The match between Niemeier and Burel was of a very manageable level; in the first five games there were only breaks. Niemeier was the first player to serve to make it 4-2, but after that the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist didn’t win a game in the first set.
Niemeier with 15 double faults
When her twelfth double fault gave her opponent a set point, Niemeier smashed her racket with two powerful blows to the ground. With a new racket, Niemeier, who had slipped to 162nd in the world rankings, immediately made a double fault again and the Frenchwoman won the set.
In the end, the statistics recorded 15 double faults for the German, and Burel’s serve also wobbled considerably (8).