Jule Niemeier leaves the US Open early - insight into her tournament conclusion

Jule Niemeier leaves the US Open early - insight into her tournament conclusion

jule Niemeier suffered a bitter defeat at the US Open. In the third round, the 25-year-old Dortmund hit the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and had to give up in a one-sided game with 2: 6, 1: 6. The encounter only took 81 minutes, in which Niemeier had little chance of assisting himself against the dominant Chinese. Despite the clear defeat, she emphasized that she was proud of the last week and that she experienced as very positive as a whole.

This defeat is particularly bitter for Niemeier because she was previously the quarterfinalist of Wimbledon. However, her performance at the tournament in New York has led to the top 90 in the world rankings again and possibly replace Laura Siegemund as the best German player. Niemeier said that it is not enough for her to only be number one in Germany with a place in the ranking, but that she has higher ambitions.

The challenges in the game

The game started promising for Niemeier; She showed strong performances, especially with the surcharge, which the audience inspired. But in the course of the first sentence, more and more mistakes crept in and it lost the momentum. The Chinese Zheng, who is known for her powerful serves, quickly found her rhythm and did not add any basic strokes. In addition, Niemeier had to struggle with a bladder on the big toe of the left foot, which she had suffered in the second round against Japanese Moyuka Uchijima. The interruption for the treatment of the injury came at an unfavorable time, and Niemeier could not build on its initial form.

After the first sentence was lost, Niemeier did not find the necessary stability in the second set. Zheng scored seven points in a row and the pressure on Niemeier became overwhelming. Although Niemeier tried to pull the audience on their side with a successful volley, a turn in the game was no longer possible.

Niemeier's story in the context of the German tennis landscape is characteristic. After the resignation of Angelique Kerber, the German players are far from the upper places in the ranking. It is a deep incision when you consider that Zheng not only won against Niemeier, but also successfully sent Kerber to retire and won the first tennis single-gold medal for China at the Olympic Games in Paris. Two years ago, never managed to defeat Zheng in the third round of the US Open, but this time the difference between the two players was obvious. This defeat could be a turning point, whereby Niemeier has the opportunity to develop further in the future and to refine their skills.

After the round of 16 in 2022, Niemeier had no longer gained beyond the second round in the last US Open. With this tournament, however, she not only improved her ranking, but also showed that she is ready to build again at the top of the German tennis players.