In an all-German quarter-final that few would have dared predict, Tatjana Maria surpassed her wildest expectations by defeating Jule Niemeier. The 34-year-old’s run to the last eight had already been one of the fortnight’s most remarkable plotlines, with the world No 103, who missed Wimbledon last year as she gave birth to her second child, knocking out the fifth seed Maria Sakkari and the former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. This victory might have come against a less formidable opponent, but the sheer spirit and willpower required to subdue Niemeier was a sight to behold and one the crowd on Court No 1 certainly relished.
Maria had never previously made the second week at a grand slam in 34 attempts in a career that now spans over two decades. She relaxed before her victory over Sakkari on Sunday by taking her eldest daughter, Charlotte, to tennis practice and admitted the tournament has felt like a dream. That her opponent in the semi-finals is Ons Jabeur has only added to the sense of fantasy. “Ons is part of my family, she loves my kids, she is playing with them every day,” Maria said. “I have goosebumps everywhere. The court is amazing, the crowd is amazing. It’s such a privilege to play here.”
Before cloud nine, though, came a twisting, intense and often anxious struggle that strained the nerves of both players to breaking point. Niemeier, eleven years Maria’s junior, had made light work of her debut in the women’s draw at Wimbledon, dropping just one set en route to the quarter-finals in a run that included an emphatic rout of second seed Anett Kontaveit and a relentless serving display against Heather Watson. For a while, Maria’s slice-heavy game was unable to stave off Niemeier’s power-hitting as she broke early in the opening set and never surrendered that advantage, closing it out 6-4.
The second threatened to take on much the same theme, with Niemeier breaking an increasingly frustrated Maria in her opening game. But the 34-year-old rallied, taking advantage of a lapse in Niemeier’s concentration and then winning the next four games in succession. Her forehands carried more force, pulling the pendulum of the match in her favour as she closed out the set 6-2 and the “serve-bot”, as Watson had hailed Niemeier, was beginning to show signs of malfunctioning.
For what she lacks in experience, Niemeier showed terrific composure to steady herself in the third and broke midway through the set. But as the finish line came into view, she faltered again as three unforced errors handed back the advantage. Maria grasped it with authority, holding and then forcing Niemeier to serve to stay in the match. Twice she thrashed simple overhead smashes into the net but somehow contained her nerves to clinch the game, punching the air and urging on the crowd.
It became a battle of will and spirit as much as talent or strength but Niemeier spurned a gilt-edged break-point opportunity at 5-5 and then was left sprawled across the grass after hurling herself at a drop volley and falling agonisingly short. It was as close to victory as she would come. The pair shared a warm embrace at the net after Maria broke in an error-strewn final game that ensured this underdog tale of another unlikely chapter.
