Alexander Zverev fights his way into the third round in Wimbledon and is the last German tennis professional still in the tournament. Jule Niemeier fails because of himself.
“Motzki” Alexander Zverev scolded, discussed excitedly with the chair umpire, and even a spectator got a spell from him. In the end, however, everything was fine after a few excitements and a snag in the second set: With a 6: 4, 5: 7, 6: 2, 6: 2 against Yosuke Watanuki from Japan, the Olympic champion reached the third round in Wimbledon – in contrast to Jule Niemeier, who surprisingly dropped out after a “bad game”. In singles, Zverev is the last of the ten Germans still in the tournament.
“He surprised me how well he served,” Zverev confessed after the 2:25 hour match in which he was warned by the chair umpire for a curse in the second set after a line judge “sneaked”. “She shouldn’t take herself more seriously than she is,” he complained, but the discussions didn’t do him any good. His opponent, 116th in the world rankings, also “deservedly won the set, I’m glad I was able to turn it around again”.
Berrettini is waiting in the round of 16
Zverev now meets Italian Matteo Berrettini, who defeated number 15 Australian Alex De Minaur 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4. Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic in the final in 2021, but after a weaker phase caused by many injuries, Zverev warned after training together before Wimbledon not to underestimate the 27-year-old. And he did it again: “He’s one of the best grass players. You definitely have to watch out for him.”
At that point, Jule Niemeier had just tried to explain her surprising departure. In the 6: 4, 6: 7 (5: 7), 1: 6 against Dalma Galfi from Hungary, she made one mistake after the other, “that was a very, very bad match from me,” she said with a sad look. The 23-year-old from Dortmund, who was in the quarter-finals last year, added that she was ranked 126th in the world against Galfi, who is also not known as a lawn specialist. “Perhaps my own expectations were broken”.
Niemeier produces 56 unforced errors
For Niemeier, the defeat on the small Court 11, where she lost a year ago as a debutant in Wimbledon against Tatjana Maria, who failed in round one this time, was as unnecessary as it was unexpected. Yes, she admitted, her plethora of “unforced errors” was “definitely” the sticking point. She made 56 of these “unforced errors” – the first with the first rally with the forehand, the last with the last with the backhand.
Because shortly after Niemeier, Tamara Korpatsch from Hamburg lost 5:7, 5:7 after a tough struggle against Serb Natalija Stevanovic, who was only ranked 255 in the world, all four German women who started were already eliminated individually. After failing to qualify, Korpatsch slipped into the main draw as a “lucky loser”.
“Last man standing” is now Zverev after Maximilian Marterer was not able to continue his series of five victories in London as feared: He lost to Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who won the ATP grass tournament in Halle, Westphalia, almost two weeks ago after beating Zverev in the semifinals had, 4:6, 1:6, 6:7 (4:7). For Marterer it was already a third round match.