Tatjana Maria waved to the audience again, then the last German hope disappeared into the catacombs at the tennis tournament in Stuttgart. Despite a combative performance, the American by choice from Bad Saulgau in Swabia was eliminated from her home event in the round of 16. The 35-year-old lost to the clearly favored Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia on Thursday in 99 minutes 6:7 (5:7), 4:6.
The sand court event, endowed with around 715,000 euros, is now continuing without German participation. On Wednesday, Dortmund’s Jule Niemeier, who, like Maria, had been given a wild card for the main draw, lost in the first round to Kazakh Wimbledon champion Jelena Rybakina.
Maria, currently number 71 in the world, was in the round of 16 of the tournament for the first time. She recently won her third WTA title in Bogotá, Colombia. Last weekend she made a significant contribution to the success of the German women’s team in the Billie Jean King Cup against Brazil in the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart.
There could have been a surprise against Garcia, fifth in the world rankings, who will meet Russian Anastasiya Potapova in the quarter-finals on Friday. Maria demanded everything from the 29-year-old. After losing the first set in the tie-break, she was already 3-0 up in the second round before she made several forehand errors and fell 3-4 behind. The German managed the break to 4:4, but also because of two double mistakes she immediately conceded the ultimately decisive re-break to 4:5. Garcia then used the first match ball to win on his own serve.
Maria’s style of play with the many changes in speed and the backspin on the forehand is “really something special”, the French praised the defeated local hero. They can read the opponent’s game well. But it wasn’t enough for the next big coup.
Tournament tableau women’s world rankings Germans in the women’s world rankings
