Laura Siegemund has long brought a flurry of drop shots, steady slicing and net rushes to the table. At 37, it’s all come together in a career-best Wimbledon run.
On Sunday, Siegemund reached her second major singles quarterfinal by ending the dream run of lucky loser Solana Sierra. The German converted five of her eight break points to dispatch the 21-year-old, 6-3, 6-2.
Clay has long been her most successful surface and when it came down to switching surfaces in the past, Siegemund felt she didn’t get enough repetitions to develop a rhythm despite a style of play that would seem transferable.
“I felt like I never have really enough time to kind of get confidence from my grass game, and maybe the precision here and there and when to do what,” she explained to press.
“This time that I had already a few matches in Nottingham, and I felt that I had more matches, and I had more opportunity to get this confidence, and it’s showing, yeah.”
A winner of three Grand Slam titles (one doubles, two mixed doubles), Siegemund’s unconventional approach goes beyond her racquet skills. Her career has involved a series of dustups with opponents on court—from a double-bounce controversy against Kristina Mladenovic at 2020 Roland Garros to the 2023 US Open with Coco Gauff when the time she was taking in-between points as a returner caused the American to press the issue with chair umpire Marijana Veljović.
The Filderstadt native owns that she’s always been “slow” as it relates to time violations, while acknowledging her actions can rub others the wrong way.
“I know that I have some very controversial, like, habits, let’s say. The only thing that I can say about them, they are really about me. I don’t try to disturb anyone, although that might be interpreted like that,” she said.
“I’m pretty consistent with my weirdness that I have, let’s say (laughing). It’s nothing. I do it for me and not against other ones, but it does lead to confrontation sometimes. Then I’m just, like, Well, that’s how I am.”