Heather Watson, who played every day of the tournament so far, was contesting her first major fourth-round match at her 42nd Slam.
The British number four broke serve at the start of the second set but couldn’t maintain that advantage.
Watson’s journey to her first major in tennis matches had a bit of everything. First, she celebrated an opening victory after beating Tamara Korpatsch on her return to Court One – the stage she experienced was a disaster when she got out in the first round last year having held match point.
She then played two matches in two days because of late finishes. She withstood Kaj Juvan’s late resurgence to secure her breakthrough third-round win on Friday.
“I think in the women’s game, often people are breaking through later. I think experience counts for a lot. Everybody’s journey is different. This is mine,” Watson said. “I broke a barrier this week. So I am definitely hungry for more. I believe in my tennis and my game. I still really enjoy it. I think that’s really important. “I’ll keep plugging away, as I always do. I’ve been around a long time now, and I hope to be around at least a bit longer.”
Watson dropped out of Top 100 in tennis players in February and defeated Niemeier in a final-set tie-break.
However, it was Niemeier, the German, who broke into the top 100 for the first time in May, held to love for 2-2 as she claimed five straight games. A forehand winner concluded the first set inside half an hour, but Watson responded at the start of the second. She survived a breakpoint to eventually hold with a winner.
Niemeier miss gave her a first break of the match, but the elation that greeted that moment was not allowed to last long as Watson followed a double fault with an unforced error to allow Niemeier to hit back immediately.
Neimeier then got a 3-4 lead after two double faults. She then got some forehand wins then she lost after she missed a volley.
The British number four broke serve at the start of the second set but couldn’t maintain that advantage.
Watson’s journey to her first major in tennis matches had a bit of everything. First, she celebrated an opening victory after beating Tamara Korpatsch on her return to Court One – the stage she experienced was a disaster when she got out in the first round last year having held match point.
She then played two matches in two days because of late finishes. She withstood Kaj Juvan’s late resurgence to secure her breakthrough third-round win on Friday.
“I think in the women’s game, often people are breaking through later. I think experience counts for a lot. Everybody’s journey is different. This is mine,” Watson said. “I broke a barrier this week. So I am definitely hungry for more. I believe in my tennis and my game. I still really enjoy it. I think that’s really important. “I’ll keep plugging away, as I always do. I’ve been around a long time now, and I hope to be around at least a bit longer.”
Watson dropped out of Top 100 in tennis players in February and defeated Niemeier in a final-set tie-break.
However, it was Niemeier, the German, who broke into the top 100 for the first time in May, held to love for 2-2 as she claimed five straight games. A forehand winner concluded the first set inside half an hour, but Watson responded at the start of the second. She survived a breakpoint to eventually hold with a winner.
Niemeier miss gave her a first break of the match, but the elation that greeted that moment was not allowed to last long as Watson followed a double fault with an unforced error to allow Niemeier to hit back immediately.
Neimeier then got a 3-4 lead after two double faults. She then got some forehand wins then she lost after she missed a volley.
