German tennis duel: Niemeier and Maria write Wimbledon stories

In the middle of their interview marathon, Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria found time for a short chat in the stairwell of the TV center in Wimbledon.

Before the only second German quarter-final duel between two tennis players in the history of the classic lawn, the two tournament sensations presented themselves remarkably relaxed and wished each other good luck for the biggest match of their careers. “We often play against people we like,” said 34-year-old Maria about her 12-year-old opponent before the game on Tuesday. “I think we’re both doing well, going out, playing our best tennis, and then everything’s fine again.”

And Niemeier didn’t waste a thought on the extraordinary competitive situation either. She is “extremely” happy that a German is definitely in the semifinals: “For me, that only has positive things.”

media excited

For the fifth time in the history of professional tennis, two German players are in the top eight at Wimbledon in the same year. And their two extraordinary stories also fascinate the international media. On the one hand Niemeier as a Wimbledon debutant who had not yet won a Grand Slam match before the tournament. On the other side is Maria, who just 15 months after the birth of her second daughter is better than ever in her long career.

“It turns out that an older mother could still be the story of these championships,” wrote the English “Daily Mail” in amazement. Actually, this role would have been intended for her Florida neighbor Serena Williams, who failed early on. Now, Maria keeps telling the story of her traveling family tennis business with her husband and trainer Charles-Edouard and their daughters Charlotte and Cecilia in German, English and French for the cameras.

“I really take my hat off to how they do it as a family,” enthused Niemeier. “I find it incredible to travel with two children.” The Dortmund native will be accompanied in London by her mother, her brother and a team led by coach Christopher Kas.

Lifetime ticket guarantee

Reaching the quarter-finals is not only associated with entry into Wimbledon’s elite “Last 8 Club”, which among other things guarantees tickets for life, but also brings in the equivalent of 360,000 euros. “That’s a lot of money, it’s very helpful for both of us to know that you can plan for the next few months, that you can travel with a physio, that’s extremely important,” said Niemeier.

Even though they played a Bundesliga game together for TC Bredeney from Essen this year, there hasn’t been a WTA duel between the two yet. Angelique Kerber won the last German encounter in a Wimbledon quarter-final in 2012 in three sets against Sabine Lisicki.

Close match expected

And this time, too, the German women’s national coach sees no clear favorite. “In the end it will be a close match with a very open outcome,” said Barbara Rittner of the German Press Agency. “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 also the case with the defeated 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.”

So it will also depend on who has the best nerves on the big stage. Should she reach the semifinals in her second Grand Slam tournament, BVB supporter Niemeier can expect many congratulations again. “As a big Dortmund fan, I had to smile and of course I was happy,” she said about news from Nico Schlotterbeck and Mats Hummels. “I didn’t expect before the tournament that I would be sitting here and that so many people would know my name.” On Tuesday there could be a few more.