Miracles do happen. At the age of 34, Tatjana Maria, a woman who this time last year had just given birth to her second daughter, reached her first grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon on Tuesday, beating another German, Jule Niemeier, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Mixing forehand slices with outstanding movement and great net play, the world No 103 came from 4-2 down in the third set to clinch a place in the last four.
“I have goosebumps everywhere,” said Maria, who sealed victory when Niemeier netted a backhand volley. “It was such a tough match against Jule, she’s from the same country as me, we’re both German. Today I think we made Germany really proud.”
