Officially, training in Aorangi Park starts at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon at 9.30 a.m., but on Court 8 is already at a quarter to nine life. However, still without a tennis racket, because Tatjana Maria and her family form a group photo. So much time has to be for the album.
Husband and coach Charles-Édouard Maria is directed, the eleven-year-old daughter Charlotte and two friends of the clan. Daughter Cecilia, 4, makes a nap in the buggy. Then Maria starts training. She starts playing with Charles-Édouard from the half field, immediately she sprinkles slice balls, very gently, sometimes with the forehand, SSSS, sometimes with the backhand, SSSS. Your magic weapon is made smooth. Then a Hitting partner, a blank partner that can be booked for the professionals in Wimbledon, takes on the role of Charles-Édouard. Everything is practiced according to a clear plan, volleys, cross balls, surcharges in the middle, externally, “on this side, please,” says Maria and points to her backhole. And again it does: SSSSS! The slice does not sit once or twice. So tried again. After half an hour, Maria thanks the young man. In a good 60 minutes she has to be on Championship Court 15. Her first game at the Grand Slam tournament in the All England Club stands against the American Katie Voleynets.
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Maria is 37 years old, wife and mother of two children, she goes into these two roles. She happily told everyone in Wimbledon three years ago when she, the Supermum, as some British media praised her, sensationally pushed up to the semi -finals. Also these days, she emphasized that the family was “first in the first place”. Basically, the Maria spend 24 hours a day, even at the press conferences, her husband came over and pushed the buggy with Cecilia in the narrow room 2. Probably this family can be one of the loving travel groups in the tennis industry, but that does not mean that Maria is not competitive through and through.
It was seen in preparation this Tuesday alone: This woman immediately switches to the professional mode. Her training is clearly structured, she hardly talks, she is so focused that she doesn’t even twitch when Cecilia hurls her accreditation onto the square and shortly afterwards can be ploped on the lawn. Mom is not mom now. She is now the tennis player, who has asserted herself on the women’s tour since 2001 and recently caused a sensation again when she won the title at the Queen’s Club in London, where a women’s tournament took place on lawn for the first time in 52 years. Maria once again annoyed her opponents with her slice blows, she always opens the racket surface and gives the balls an effective undercut so that they jump away extremely flat. Since only very few play on the women’s tour, everyone likes to be stressed by Maria, who is sometimes swept beautifully from the square. But sometimes not. Especially not on lawn.
Tatjana Maria’s match did not win a beauty prize, it was a saw in slow motion
This season Maria didn’t win much until her victory in the Queen’s Club, but she wasn’t worried, anyway, Maria is the serenity in person. “I wasn’t actually desperate, I played in between Bundesliga, I won my matches, so it didn’t feel like it was all as everyone said,” she said in Wimbledon. In addition, she knew: “As soon as I am on lawn, the doubts are gone.”
On the one hand, exhaust was now a good kick-off opponent for Maria, the 23-year-old is 98. The world rankings and was more out of the world in this duel. On the other hand, Voleynets did something that Maria does not always know: she often used slice as technology. This match therefore did not win a beauty price, it was a saw in slow motion; Maria’s game is also a bit limited, she pulls through the slic at least consistently, but the match was entertaining.
Two German tennis fans on the narrow grandstand, apparently promised to humor, took the type of rallies as an opportunity to think of small battle calls. “Slice, Slice, Baby,” said one of the two, based on the hip-hop song “ICE, ICE, baby” by Vanilla Ice. A third man two places further, also from Germany, brabbled: “It has to be annoying when one plays like that.” Voleynets, whose surname is in the best tradition of previous professionals such as Tenny’s sandgren and Anna Smacschenowa, almost lost, but only almost. In the tie -break of the second set, Maria already led 4: 2, three points were missing to the victory, from this moment Voleynets turned the game and won 3: 6, 7: 6 (4), 6: 1. In the third sentence, Maria, who always seems tired, once in vain for her husband-Charles-Édouard had to take care of Cecilia in the buggy.
The defeat is not the end of the world for Maria. She has long been in a situation in which she enjoys vagabond life on the tour with her family, and this life could continue for a long time. On the one hand, she doesn’t want to stop soon. “Of course, my dream is to play until we can play a double together. That would be really nice if I could finally play a double with Charlotte and then end my career,” she said at the beginning of the week. “I feel my age, but I don’t feel old, I feel young, maybe because of my children.” On the other hand, Charlotte could play on the tour himself. Then everyone could just continue. And take group photos before training.