A win for motherhood as Maria beats Ostapenko
Given that she had never progressed beyond the third round of a grand slam before this tournament, few would have tipped German mother-of-two Tatjana Maria to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. That possibility appeared even more remote considering the 34-year-old returned to competitive tennis less than a year ago after coming back from her second maternity leave. But that scenario played out in dramatic fashion yesterday when she stunned Jelena Ostapenko 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.
A phenomenal fightback from world No 103 Maria – who was ranked outside the top 250 in March – prompted Latvian 12th seed Ostapenko to storm off court afterwards.
“There’s always the belief that I can do it,” Maria, who gave birth to her second daughter, Cecilia, in April last year, said.
“That’s why I came back after the
first one. It’s why I came back after the second one. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter how many kids you have, you just have to keep going and to believe in yourself.” A highly touted junior who never really delivered on her talent, Maria has reframed her career through the sphere of motherhood.
She was encouraged by her husband Charles-edouard Maria – the former French professional who is also her coach – to switch from a double-handed to a single-handed backhand after her first maternity leave.
It is a move that is clearly paying dividends. “He said to me when I was pregnant, ‘I would like to change your backhand to a onehand backhand’,” Maria said.
“I said, ‘OK, at least I have my slice in case it doesn’t work.’ I trust him 100 per cent.
“He did a great job because I feel I never played anything else. It’s a good shot for me, and it’s super important.” Having saved two match points in the second set at 4-5 and with the crowd firmly behind her, Maria capitalised on an Ostapenko error to go up 6-5 before sealing the match on serve.
In the mixed doubles, the Venus Williams and Jamie Murray show is no more. Their adventure was ended by British pair Jonny O’mara and Alicia Barnett after an enthralling final-set tie-break last night.
O’mara and Barnett celebrated wildly after clinching the dramatic decider 18-16 to power through 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 to the quarter-finals. It could have panned out differently had a Barnett backhand return not dribbled over the net – to the agony of Murray and Williams as they led 15-14 – which was one of five match points the duo saw go begging.