Second seed Kontaveit falls to world No 97 Niemeier

Kontaveit has not reached the third round of a Grand Slam this year

Anett Kontaveit at Wimbledon in 2022 Image Credit: AI Reuters/ Panoramic

June 29, 2022

World No 2 Anett Kontaveit has been knocked out of the Wimbledon Championships, going down in the second round in straight sets to world No 97 Jule Niemeier.

Niemeier took an early break in the first set and held on to that to win the first set 6-4. She then won six games in a row to complete the 6-4, 6-0 win in 59 minutes.

This is the third consecutive early exit for Kontaveit at a Major this year – she lost in the second round of the Australian Open and the first round of Roland-Garros.

This was 22-year-old Niemeier’s first career win in a Grand Slam event in just her second appearance in the main draw at a Major.

The German will next meet Lesia Tsurenko, who upset 29th seed Anhelina Kalinina 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

” I tried to come back very quickly” – Kontaveit on her COVID-19 experience

In her post-match press conference, Kontaveit said she has had a tough time since contracting COVID-19 a few months ago.

“Well, I had it a couple, two months ago, I think, or something like that,” Kontaveit said. “Then I tried to come back very quickly. I started training. It was low intensity, but I was still training every day. I think that was where I went wrong. Just thinking back at it, I probably should have given myself more time to recover. Then I tried to play Rome. I mean, it was very difficult physically. It was a hot day. I remember it was very, very tough. “

“Also, at the French, I really struggled. I had like really big energy dips, and I was tired all the time. It was tough to wake up. I slept a lot all the time. So, then after the French, I tried to start training again, and it just got worse. I started feeling more and more tired. Then I decided to take a complete break for a couple of weeks, I think, and I felt like my energy was starting to come back.”

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