2022 Wimbledon: Tatjana Maria stuns Ostapenko, reaches maiden major quarter-final
Germany's Tatjana Maria beat Jelena Ostapenko to reach the quarter-final of 2022 Wimbledon on Sunday. The former came from behind to stage 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win over the Latvian, having saved two match points. Maria has qualified for her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final a year after returning from her second maternity leave. She is now the oldest woman left in the draw.
Maria first made a turnaround from 7-5, 4-5 (15-40) in the second set and then bounced back from 0-2 in the third to emerge victorious. She saved as many as two match points during her victory. The German won a total of 115 points, while Ostapenko claimed 52 winners. Maria won 44% (54/122) of the receiving points in the match.
Magical moment for Maria 💫​
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2022
After returning from maternity leave less than a year ago, Tatjana Maria reaches her first Grand Slam QF#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/dCv8QXelTY
As per Opta, Maria has become the seventh woman in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon after turning 34. The others are Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams.
It is to note that Maria gave birth to her second child in April 2021. A year later, she bagged her second WTA title in Colombia after beating Laura Pigossi in the final. And now, Maria has become the first mother of two to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in this century. The world number 103 has a win-loss record of 35-16 in 2022.
Maria's opponent Ostapenko finished as the runner-up at Eastbourne International in June. She reached her second singles final of the season after triumphing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February. The Latvian was the highest seed left among the four semi-finalists. After losing in the ongoing grass-court Slam, Ostapenko now has a win-loss record of 23-12 in the season.
Maria will lock horns with 97th-ranked Jule Niemeier in the quarter-finals. The latter beat world number 121 Heather Watson 6-2, 6-4 to book a spot in the last eight. Niemeier has reached this stage in her second major main draw. She is the fourth-youngest German woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals in the Open Era, only behind Bettina Bunge, Steffi Graf, and Sabine Lisicki.
