| place: all england dates: Jun 27 – Jul 10 |
| coverage: Live BBC TV, Radio and Online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. |
Tatjana Maria reached her Grand Slam semi-final by defeating Julie Niemeyer at Wimbledon.
Maria, ranked 103 in the world, beat her German compatriot 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in an interesting match.
Mariah, 34, was ranked outside the top 250 recently in March and only returned to the tour a year ago after giving birth to her second daughter.
She will face either third seed Anas Jaber – the highest-ranked player in the lottery – or the next, Marie Buzkova.
Maria dropped her racket to the ground and stood with her mouth covered in disbelief after confirming her victory with a miss.
She ran to Grid for a long hug with Niemeier before thanking the crowd, still shaking her head in shock.
“It’s a dream to live this with my family, to live this with my girl. About a year ago I gave birth, it’s crazy,” said Maria.
“I get goosebumps all over. I think today we made Germany really proud after our match.”
Maria says she will enjoy playing her good friend Jaber, one of the favorites to win the title, next.
“She is part of my family,” she said. “She loves my children and plays with them every day.”
“It would be great to play with her, we never know. But I’m just glad I’m in the semi-finals now.”
“Extraordinary” Maria continues to tell fairy tales
Maria is the sixth woman in the Open Era to reach a Wimbledon semi-final after turning 34.
She had to do it the hard way, with Niemeyer breaking in the first half of the match and looking more confident serving and netting.
The 22-year-old started the second set with confidence, breaking again at the first opportunity, but Maria hit back at the first opportunity.
Maria converted her second of three break points by dropping to one knee to land a backhand straight over the net, pulling the Court One crowd to their feet.
She won five of her last six matches to force a decisive set but after a difficult start, Maria was frustrated and let out a shriek of annoyance after breaking to fall 3-2 behind.
Having saved match points in the previous round against Yelena Ostapenko, Maria once again went deeper. With Niemeyer serving to lead 5-3, she continued to push, and the result was Niemeyer’s long shot that put the match back on serve.
With the crowd growing louder – led by Niemeier, who raised her arms, asking for support – Maria saved a breaking point, before converting her first match point on Niemeier’s serve.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin described Maria’s career as a “fairy tale”, adding on BBC TV: “We watch sports to stir up emotions. Outside the top 100, the mother of two has reached the semi-finals of the tournament. Wimbledon.
“Your dreams can come true. They are truly extraordinary.”
