Women’s national coach Barbara Rittner sees no clear favorite for the German quarter-final duel in Wimbledon between Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria.
“In the end it will be a close match with a very open outcome,” said the 49-year-old of the German Press Agency. The 22-year-old Niemeier is in her Wimbledon debut for the first time in the top eight of a Grand Slam tournament, as is Maria, twelve years her senior.
“In terms of play, I see Jule a bit ahead because she has an even stronger serve and is able to impose her game more on Tatjana,” said Rittner. On the other hand, this was actually the case with Latvian Jelena Ostapeno in the round of 16. “Tatjana has shown impressively often enough that she outgrows herself. She will do everything to make it as difficult as possible for Jule.”
Two Germans in the quarterfinals
Only for the fifth time in the history of professional tennis are two German players in the same year in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, there was only a direct duel in this round in 2012 between Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki.
“Tatjana deserved it so much as a highlight of her great career, it’s great how they do it as a family,” Rittner enthused about the mother of two, Maria, who is trained by her husband Charles-Edouard and accompanied by her daughters. “The fact that Jule is hitting the big stage as a newcomer shows a lot of potential for the future.”
In the round of 16 of what was only her second Grand Slam tournament, Niemeier defeated Brit Heather Watson 6-2, 6-4 on Center Court. The hard-fought 5:7, 7:5, 7:5 against Ostapenko was also the greatest success of Maria’s career.