Playstyle:
Maria unnerves her opponents with her unorthodox style of play, which almost seems a bit outdated. She also plays a lot of balls with backspin on the forehand, is extremely strong in stride and fought her way back into the games at Wimbledon, even when she was behind. “There will be a lot of slice balls in this match,” predicted her opponent Jabeur, also a family friend, also for the upcoming semifinals. “You have to adjust to that.”
strokes of fate:
It is by no means a matter of course that Tatjana Maria still plays tennis today. 14 years ago she was diagnosed with a thrombosis in her leg. Maria was in mortal danger because cardiac arrest was imminent after a pulmonary embolism. Operations followed. Her father, who had accompanied her to tournaments, died a little later. “A few things happened to me that automatically make you stronger,” she said at Wimbledon.
Personality:
Maria is deeply relaxed and always in a good mood. The word “uncomplicated” best describes the 34-year-old, says Barbara Rittner. “You can feel that she is completely at peace, has arrived and is a very satisfied person,” said the women’s national coach of the German Press Agency about Maria. Rittner remembers numerous Fed Cup appearances by the generation around Angelique Kerber, Julia Görges, Sabine Lisicki and Maria, who was called Malek before her marriage. “She was always the most balanced, the most uncomplicated, with the lowest demands. She just does the mood good.”
