There’s something special that unfolds when Germany’s Jule Niemeier steps on a grass court.
“I love to play on grass. It fits to my game. I love to play slice, dropshots, going to the net (and) if I’m serving well, it’s tough to break it,” she commented on her Wimbledon main draw debut in 2022, when the then world No.97 upset No.2 Anett Kontaveit in a headline-grabbing run to the quarter-finals.
Big-name opponents became an equally welcome challenge for the fearless-22-year-old.
“The first couple of matches against top players, I was hesitating a bit. I thought I have to play something special,” Niemeier reasoned.
“If you play those players, you just have to stay there. You have to play every point. You have to stay consistent, just focus on every point. That’s what I’m trying to do now.”
It’s proven the perfect approach as Niemeier builds on her grass court affinity. Last month, she stunned world No.6 and defending champion Ons Jabeur to reach Berlin’s second round.
The disruptive Niemeier was at it again as she eliminated No.16 seed Karolina Muchova – the recent Roland-Garros finalist and twice a quarter-finalist at the All England Club – in the first round of the 2023 Championships, claiming a 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 victory in two hours and 53 minutes.
A hugely entertaining contest on Wimbledon’s No.12 court was shaped in its latter stages by an injury to Muchova. After an awkward fall in the fourth game of the deciding set, the Czech received an immediate medical timeout and returned with her upper right thigh heavily strapped.
Muchova’s power and movement were clearly compromised as Niemeier won three of the final four games to secure her progress to the second round.
Not that the unfortunate ending diminished the tremendous threat that the German – who at world No.103, is ranked 87 places lower than her No.16 opponent – had posed until that point.
While Muchova is known for her creativity, the aggressive Niemeier combines power with deft touch. She utilised those skills early to gain the first break point opportunities in the fourth game. While she couldn’t convert then, Niemeier earned four further chances in the eighth game.
Muchova again drew on her big serve – firing five of her seven total aces in that first stanza – and some brave winners to stave off the challenges, but finally succumbed to the German, who’d been impenetrable on her own serve, on Niemeier’s 13th break point and seventh set point.
The response was swift, Muchova taking a 2-0 second-set lead and after a late exchange of breaks, maintaining her lead to level the match on her fourth set point.
But a persistent Niemeier was finding her opportunities, the upset again seeming possible when she took a 3-0 lead in the final set. After Muchova’s injury, a comeback proved insurmountable.
Niemeier was respectfully muted, offering condolences to Muchova in their post-match handshake. But as she prepares to face Hungary’s Dalma Galfi in the second round, the 23-year-old Niemeier must sense a growing opportunity.
She’s returned to a favourite grass court and with a refusal to be intimidated by the big occasion, she has further Wimbledon success in her sights.
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