2022 Wimbledon: Who is 22-year-old Jule Niemeier?
Germany's Jule Niemeier reached her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final after beating Heather Watson at 2022 Wimbledon. Claiming a 6-2, 6-4 win, the world number 97 qualified for this stage in her second major main draw. Niemeier, who earlier stunned second seed Anett Kontaveit, will now face her fellow German Tatjana Maria. Here, we take a look at the journey of Niemeier so far.
Niemeier, 22, has dropped just one set at 2022 Wimbledon. She started off with a straight-set win over China's Xiyu Wang. The former then knocked out Anett Kontaveit, securing a 6-4, 6-0 win. Niemeier struggled against Lesia Tsurenko but bounced back in the final set (6-4, 3-6, 6-3). The German finally outclassed Watson to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.
Niemeier overcame Kontaveit in just 58 minutes. It was her first win against a Top 10 player, the biggest of her career so far. As per WTA, each of her previous three matches against Top 20 players went to three sets.
As per Opta, Niemeier has become the fourth-youngest German woman to qualify for the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in the Open Era. She is only behind Bettina Bunge, Steffi Graf, and Sabine Lisicki on the list.
Niemeier has a win-loss record of 29-13 in 2022. Before the ongoing Wimbledon, she lost to Daria Kasatkina at the Homburg Open. In June, the 22-year-old went on to win the Makarska Open 125 (Challenger) after beating Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the final. Niemeier reached the main draw of the 2022 French Open, defeating Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik, Jessika Ponchet, and Moyuka Uchijima (qualifying rounds).
Niemeier made her singles main-draw debut at the 2019 Nurnberger Versicherungscup. Last year, she reached two semi-finals on clay. She lost to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova at the Internationaux de Strasbourg as a qualifier in May. Niemeier then made the semis at the Hamburg European Open as a wildcard, eventually losing to Andrea Petkovic. As a result, she entered the top 150.
Neimeier will lock horns with her German fellow Tatjana Maria in the quarter-final of 2022 Wimbledon. The latter came from behind to stage 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win over the Latvian, having saved two match points. As per Opta, two German women have reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the same year for the fifth time in the Open Era after 1987.
