THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2022

Tatjana Maria

Press Conference

T. MARIA/J. Niemeier

4-6, 6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Semifinals, give us your thoughts.

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, I tried to calm down a little bit in the locker room and to realize something, but it's still hard to realize it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Did you stick with your kind of usual routine this morning with a tennis lesson with your daughter? And beyond that, give us an idea of the experience of being able to enjoy this with your family.

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, everything was the same. This morning we arrived at 8:30 indoors and Charlotte, she had a practice. Yeah, we keep going the same way.

Outside of the court, I mean, nothing change for me for a moment, so I try to keep this going, everything the same. We keep going even if I play semifinals (smiling).

Q. There was a little girl who was supporting you previously in the tournament in Harmony Tan's box. How do you know her? Who is she?

TATJANA MARIA: That's the friend who plays every morning with Charlotte, actually. They are practicing together every morning. Yeah, she was supporting Harmony Tan and she's supporting me. Yeah, she's amazing.

Q. Is she a good player?

TATJANA MARIA: Yes, she's playing good. She's two years older than my daughter, but they are playing both amazing and they are practicing every day.

Q. First of all, obviously Harmony had some amazing wins and now you. What kind of magic powers does the girl have?

TATJANA MARIA: That's a good question. I mean, I have to ask her this (smiling).

No, she's great. I mean, she's such a nice girl. I hear her all the time. I mean, she's telling me all the time, Allez, Tatjana. Allez. You can do this.

She's great. It's so nice for Charlotte, too, to have friends here to enjoy the time outside of the tennis court. So that's amazing.

Q. Obviously there's lots of talk about the fact you're a mother of two and how incredible that is. Do you like always being talked about in those terms, or is there a part of you that wants to say, Look, I'm not just a mother, I'm a tennis player and a person too?

TATJANA MARIA: I love to talk about this. I think for me that's the most important in my life, to be a mom of my two kids. Nothing will change this.

I'm here, yeah, I'm in the semifinal of Wimbledon, it's crazy, but I'm still a mom. After this I will go out over there and I will see my kids and I will do the same thing what I do every single day.

I will change her Pampers, I mean, everything normal. I try to keep normal as much as possible, because that was what makes me proudest is to be a mom.

Q. A moment ago you said it's crazy. How would you describe what's crazy about all this to you, and why do you think it's crazy?

TATJANA MARIA: Actually, because, I mean, I never -- this was my best Grand Slam. Before, I mean, I did it one time a third round here. And in the other Grand Slam I never pass the second round. Now I'm in the semifinal of Wimbledon.

I mean, I always believed that I have something inside, I mean, that I can do this. I always believed in this, but to be now here in this spot... I mean, like I said, one year ago I gave birth to my second daughter. If somebody would tell me one year later you are in a semifinal of Wimbledon, that's crazy.

Q. Could you just compare today's match and the challenge that you faced against a player who had never been there before either compared to your previous matches against people like Ostapenko and other matches?

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, it was a really tough match. It's always maybe tough to play against, yeah, against also a German girl. I mean, I didn't know her really well. We never even practiced together.

So it's like, yeah, it was something completely new. I think, yeah, when I went on the court I was starting pretty nervous. I was really nervous. And then but, thanks God, I came down and I find a little bit my game. At the end we had an amazing match. I guess it was great to watch this match. It was, I mean, it was amazing how at the end, you know, we shaked hand, gave each other a hug, and she was reacting amazing.

So I think today it was really nice for Germany.

Q. Were you doubting at all your tactics? Because she was doing very well against you, against the slice for quite a while.

TATJANA MARIA: Yes, I mean, yes and no, because I knew a little bit this will happen so I had this in my mind.

But, you know, when you are outside on the court sometimes it's really hard to change your tactics, and I had to change my tactics a little bit.

Yeah, I'm happy that I could do it. I mean, even that I was 4-2 down in the third set, so I kept going and I kept fighting. That's what I did.

Q. Did anyone ever tell you, Don't be ridiculous, you can't play professional tennis with an 8-year-old and a 15-month-old? You've got to be realistic?

TATJANA MARIA: I mean, I guess there are a lot of people who never believed I would come back. This was already after Charlotte and when I changed my backhand.

I think there were also a lot of people already in this time that nobody was thinking, Okay, she's now back with a child, but it's not impossible to be back in the top 100.

And, yeah, to be honest, I showed it last time already that I am back. I mean, I reached the top 50 with Charlotte, and now I'm back with my second child. Still everybody was doubting.

I mean, you know, I mean, it's a little bit my life to show everybody that I'm still here and I'm a fighter, and I keep going and I keep dreaming.

That's what I want to show my kids.

Q. Did anyone close to you doubt it, as well?

TATJANA MARIA: No. Close to me, nobody doubts, was never doubting that I cannot do it. That's actually, that's great and that was make me proud, that my family supporting me all the time.

I mean, it should be like this, but there is no doubt in...

Q. What did Charlotte say upon you winning?

TATJANA MARIA: Charlotte, she's happy that she can stay two more days in the creche. I mean, she realize that it's something super special. So if I see her after she's running in my arms, she's super proud of me, so that's nice.

Q. Obviously you have used your forehand slice for a long time but everyone seems to be using it this year. What is it about Wimbledon that's brought that shot back?

TATJANA MARIA: You know, in general on grass you need to play slice. I think the slice is really, really good on grass. In general, I was playing even outside of the grass I was playing a lot of forehand slice already before.

So the grass fits my game pretty well, and, yeah, and I keep going with my forehand slice. If it works, that's nice.

Q. Can I ask you about the change of your backhand? You mentioned it before. That's very risky to do it at a later age in your career. How difficult was that?

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, it was really difficult, because, I mean, I played before only slice on my backhand side. I never played a two-hand backhand. Even if somebody went to the net or something, I never played it.

So my husband, he told me that he would like to change my two-hand backhand to a one-hand backhand. Yeah, what was risky in this moment, but I trust him 100%. If he thinks that this is right and I know that it's right, and so we did it together.

Now it feels like I never played a different shot.

Q. Did it work immediately or was it terrible at first?

TATJANA MARIA: No, for sure at the beginning it's not so easy because you need confidence, you need to play the shot. You have to gain the confidence in the shot.

Yeah, I kept going, and it's getting better and better.

Q. How do you explain the fact you have had your career-best result as a mom and first top 50 after Charlotte and now this? That's not very usual. Is it just the change of the backhand or are there other factors to the player you were before you were a mother?

TATJANA MARIA: You know, I think the fact to be a mom for me, to be a mom is for me on the top of my life. So I think it helps me in tennis too, because now my priority are my kids. I mean, for sure I play tennis, I want to do my best, and, yeah, that's all what I want. But my kids are the priority.

If I go out here, I want that my kids are happy, that they are healthy, that everything is okay. That's the most important for me in my life.

And for my husband, too. That's why it works so well that we are working together. We are never fighting about the tennis, because we both know the family is the most important. It will always stay like this.

Q. The list of women to have made the semifinals of Wimbledon after their 34th birthday are Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chrissie Evert, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Tatjana Maria. How does it feel to join that list?

TATJANA MARIA: No, that's amazing, to be in a list of such great players, it's amazing. I mean, to have my name in the same spot, yeah, I still cannot believe it, really. So that's, yeah, it makes me proud.