Heather Watson’s Wimbledon run ends in bruising loss to ‘serve-bot’ Niemeier

On a day where Wimbledon harked back to a bygone era, with a parade of legends to celebrate Centre Court’s 100th birthday and Cliff Richard singing Summer Holiday, Heather Watson also did her bit by resuscitating the role of plucky Brit. For all her occasional magic, the sheer number of gentle sighs – usually after a forehand failed to find its mark – told the story.

It felt like a missed opportunity for the hugely likeable Watson, who was in the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time at the age of 30. But after her 6-2, 6-4 defeat she admitted the thumping power and unerring precision of Jule Niemeier had been just too good.

“I felt like I was playing a serve-bot type thing,” Watson said. “The points were just so quick. I was just trying to make as many returns as possible, holding on to my serve. It felt like more men’s tennis today than women’s.”

In her first three matches at Wimbledon, Watson had faced players ranked 110th, 140th and 62nd in the world. But while the 97th-ranked Niemeier also looked beatable on paper, the 22-year-old’s game proved a perfect mesh for these fast grass courts.

It also did not help that Watson’s body was a little beaten up and bruised by playing seven successive days in singles and doubles. “I’ve had so many falls,” she said, pointing to her legs. “I’ve got bruises everywhere.

“And one of the slips I had against Kaja Juvan, one of the muscles at the back of my knee had a reaction. I felt that quite a lot yesterday. It wasn’t too long, so I managed to get away with it. But my knees are pretty unstable right now.”

Watson started with an ace and looked to be playing solidly at 2-1 up. But soon the German’s power game took over as she rattled off five quick games to take the set. The