She is in the top 32 for the ninth time in the classic grass field and is also a clear favorite against Belgian Elise Mertens or Panna Udvardy from Hungary. “I try to keep playing my lawn tennis constantly, to remain aggressive even in the important moments.” After 85 minutes, the woman from Kiel converted her first match point and continued this year in Wimbledon without losing a set.
Otte opponents give up after 15 minutes
Oscar Otte went much faster into the next round. Opponent Christian Harrison from the USA gave up after only 15 minutes at a score of 3:1 for Otte in the first set. “I was very surprised. I noticed straight away that he couldn’t move, but it’s still Wimbledon,” said the man from Cologne, who was happy about the saved energy: “Sure, that helps.”
Otte, German number one in Wimbledon without the missing Olympic champion Alexander Zverev injured, is now dealing with the young Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz or Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands. Maria then reached the third round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career after 2015 with a 6:3, 1:6, 7:5 against the Romanian Sorana Cirstea. “It was an up and down,” said the mother of two. “It means a lot to me. 2015 was the first Wimbledon with (daughter) Charlotte. And is it the first time that I play Wimbledon with two children.”
Niemeier dominates top ten player
While the 34-year-old Maria was also an outsider, Niemeier managed a real coup. In her duel with a top ten player, after a balanced start, she dominated her number two opponent at will. “Very strong and it’s going on”, congratulated women’s national coach Barbara Rittner.Niemeier collected more than 138,000 euros for the biggest success of her career and now meets Lessia Zurenko from Ukraine.
Last year, Niemeier narrowly missed the first jump into the Wimbledon main draw and, after the French Open a month ago, is only taking part in a Grand Slam for the second time. “I’m trying to absorb all of this here, I still don’t quite know where to go,” she said before the match about her experience at Wimbledon, where she also admired Rafael Nadal in training. At the beginning of June, the Borussia Dortmund football fan won his first title on the WTA tour at the tournament in Makarska, Croatia.
Petkovic “bets big” on Niemeier
An experienced German had believed her capable of this for a long time. “I’m counting on her in the hope that she stays healthy and injury-free, that’s the most important thing,” said 34-year-old Andrea Petkovic about Niemeier. “In terms of play, she’s an absolute top 20 player for me. She knows that, I tell her that seven to eight times a day.”