Bianca Andreescu (L) and Jule Niemeier.
Match details
Fixture: Bianca Andreescu vs (WC) Jule Niemeier.
Date: 19 April 2022.
Tournament: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 32).
Venue: Stuttgart, Germany.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Clay.
Prize money: $757,900.
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Bianca Andreescu vs Jule Niemeier preview
Andreescu at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu will take on home favorite Jule Niemeier in the first round of the 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Tuesday.
This will be Andreescu’s first tournament of the year. She hasn’t competed since her third-round loss at the 2021 Indian Wells Open in October last year. The Canadian decided to skip this year’s Australian Open in order to recover after an emotionally taxing year and remained on the sidelines after that as well. Her prolonged absence from the tour has resulted in her ranking dropping outside the top-100.
Andreescu’s experience on clay at the WTA level has been rather limited, as she has competed in just three tournaments. She has competed at Roland Garros twice, with a second-round appearance in 2019 being her best result. She reached her first quarterfinal on the red dirt at the WTA 250 in Strasbourg last year, but withdrew prior to her match against Sorana Cîrstea due to an injury.
Jule Niemeier at the 2018 Nuernberger Versicherungscup.
Jule Niemeier has competed in two main draw matches this year after coming through the qualifying rounds. At the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, she lost to Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-1 in the first round.
At the Monterrey Open, Niemeier put up a tough fight against Heather Watson, but eventually lost 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (4). In her other four events, she failed to make it past the qualifying rounds. She also competed in an ITF event in Germany, but lost to Urszula Radwanksa 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Bianca Andreescu vs Jule Niemeier head-to-head
This is set to be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head is tied at 0-0 for now.
Bianca Andreescu vs Jule Niemeier odds
Although Andreescu hasn’t competed in a long time, she’s still favored to win this match considering her past performances and achievements.
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Bianca Andreescu vs Jule Niemeier prediction
Bianca Andreescu at the 2021 US Open.
With Andreescu returning after a lengthy layoff and on a surface in which she lacks experience, her chances seem slim. However, the 2019 US Open champion couldn’t have asked for an easier start in Stuttgart. Niemeier’s overall results and her record against top players doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Andreescu has a lot of options to work with given her style of play. She’s partial to her forehand, which can either hit flat or with topspin. She throws in a few drop shots from time to time as well and plays aggressively to finish points quickly.
Niemeier, on her part, has enough power in her groundstrokes to keep herself in the game. But simply relying on that won’t cut it. She’s got to reduce her unforced errors, which tend to pile on as the match progresses. Playing in front of her home crowd might inspire her to raise her level and even upset her opponent.
The difference in their accomplishments and skillset is quite vast. While Andreescu’s backhand can be attacked, it’s certainly not a weakness. Niemeier has a tendency to spray errors and double faults and against an opponent like Andreescu, she’ll have to maintain a high level and keep the error count low. Andreescu, despite lacking in match play at the moment, should be able to make a winning return to tennis
Pick: Bianca Andreescu to win in three sets.
