Four German tennis pros are in action in Wimbledon on Friday. The quartet has some opponents who are rated as strong in the classic lawn.
Jule Niemeier opens the German day at the grass classic in Wimbledon.
As the first of a quartet, the 22-year-old from Dortmund wants to increase the greatest success of her career again at 12:00 p.m. (CEST) against the Ukrainian Lessia Zurenko and for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament in the round of 16. “I’m curious to see what else she can achieve,” said Angelique Kerber about the German tennis hope, which surprisingly defeated Anett Kontaveit, third in the world rankings, in the second round.
Against the 33-year-old Zurenko, Kerber does not see her teammate without a chance. “Now she is waiting for an opponent who is not easy, but doable.” In her own third-round game against Elise Mertens, three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Kerber is also favored. Tatjana Maria faces a difficult task, as she meets world number five Maria Sakkari from Greece.
Oscar Otte is also an outsider in the duel with the young Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz. But if Cologne has a chance of beating the 19-year-old clay court specialist, it will be on the less-loved Wimbledon lawn. “That’s where I can suppress the most that he comes to his game, that he gets into his comfort zone, that the rallies are kept short,” said Otte about his plan for the game. “He doesn’t like that, he doesn’t know that. And I’m playing really well on grass at the moment.” Otte plays the last game of the day in the second largest stadium on Court 1.
