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Tatjana Maria and Ons Jabeur will play the semi-finals in the bottom half of the women’s draw of 2022 Wimbledon. Earlier on Tuesday, both players won their respective quarter-finals after coming from a set down. In the second semi-final, the third-seeded Jabeur beat the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in an hour and 47 minutes.
Jabeur conceded just one game in the opening set and failed to convert either of the two break points she had on Bouzkova’s serve. The Tunisian, however, turned the match around convincingly in the latter two sets as she found her rhythm and range.
Jabeur broke Bouzkova six times in the latter two sets while losing her serve just once, in the third set that turned out to be the lone game the Czech won in the set. Jabeur finished with 30 winners more than twice as many as Bouzkova’s 14 and had 27 unforced errors, 10 more than her opponent’s 17.
Wimbledon: Similar yet dissimilar roads for Ons Jabeur and Tatjana Maria
Meanwhile, in the first semi-final, Maria was put through her paces by her opponent, fellow German, Jule Niemeier before clinched a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory after two hours and 18 minutes of play.
Niemeier broke to start the match and didn’t let up on her momentum throughout the set. Niemeier’s aggressive tactics and frequent inroads to the net prevented Maria from playing the game on her terms. Against Niemeier’s constant barrage of attacking shot-making, the 34-year-old backhand faltered severely that eventually helped the former to win the set and go up in the match.
Across the latter two sets, Niemeier’s game became predictable even as Maria adjusted her game to thwart her opponent’s aggressiveness. Maria used the slice quite effectively and Niemeier’s serve came under pressure from the get go – she faced break points for the first time in the match and lost her serve twice giving Maria the chance to level the match.
Niemeier gained the lead in the third set with a break in the fifth game but was broken back in the eighth game. In the 12th game, trying to stay in the match and take the set into the decider, Niemeier lost her serve decisively, giving Maria the win.
Maria finished with 26 winners to Niemeier’s 39 and also had fewer unforced errors as compared to the latter – 37 to 54. For both Tatjana Maria and Ons Jabeur, this is the first time they’ve reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
In fact, this is the first time that either player’s reached this far at a Major. Photo Credit: AELTC/Joel Marklund