Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria not only have the chance to reach the quarter-finals for the first time at Wimbledon.
Making it into the top eight at the grass-court classic is also linked to entry into an elite circle, the so-called “Last 8 Club”. “He was already joking,” Niemeier said of their coach Christopher Kas, “that only one more win is missing. He’s in it, after all.”
All quarter-finalists in singles, semi-finalists in doubles and finalists in mixed will be inducted into the “Last 8 Club” at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Membership entitles them to attend the tournament for life, taking one guest with them and sitting in special seats on Centre Court and Court 1. It comes with free tea and coffee and a happy hour every day from 6pm to 7pm.
“It’s very, very difficult to get tickets here,” said Kas, who reached the doubles semi-finals in 2011, adding with a smile, “That’s why our goal is to get the Jule into the last eight as well, then next year we’ll already have a lot more tickets and then we can invite more people when we really attack then. “
Niemeier among best 16 earlier than expected
Even earlier than expected, Niemeier has made it into the top 16 and will face Britain’s Heather Watson at 14:30 (CEST) in her first Wimbledon appearance. As hoped, the 22-year-old from Dortmund will play the local heroine on Centre Court. “It’s an honour. This is one of the biggest stages on the tour, that’s why you play tennis,” said Niemeier full of anticipation.
Maria’s match against Latvian twelfth seed Jelena Ostapenko will start half an hour earlier in the second largest stadium. The 34-year-old has never reached so far in her 35th Grand Slam appearance. Should she fail to reach the quarter-finals and thus be accepted into the “Last 8 Club”, Maria already has a plan B in view of the talent of her eight-year-old daughter Charlotte: “I hope that my daughter will play here one day, then I would be here with my daughter.