Tatjana Maria’s young daughter Charlotte beamed at the sight of her mother leaving the court.
It didn't matter to the two-and-a-half year old whether Mum had fallen short or emerged triumphant. It meant one thing – play time.
Fortunately on Wednesday, it was an equally smiling mother leaving the court at Roehampton after a 6-3, 6-3 win against An-Sophie Mestach in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
The German, whose husband and coach Charles-Edouard was urging her on from the sidelines, arrived during her post-match interview with Wimbledon.com to lift their grinning daughter up for a congratulatory kiss.
“Maybe she feels something but at the end she doesn’t care if I win or lose,” Maria said. “She’s always happy to see me after I come off the court because she knows that we’re going to play together so for her it’s fine.”
The No.1 seed in qualifying stands just one win away from contesting her sixth Wimbledon main draw, where her finest Grand Slam result came last year.
In only her third Grand Slam main draw appearance since returning to the tour following the Charlotte's birth, Maria reached the third round at the All England Club before falling to Madison Keys in straight sets.
“I’m always happy to play in Wimbledon, it’s one of my favourite tournaments. I was a little bit unlucky [being] one out of the main draw but on the other side, I have a chance to have some matches,” she said.
“I mean, it’s not easy to play the quallies but I look at it really round by round and I’m happy that I won today.”
I’m always happy to play in Wimbledon, it’s one of my favourite tournaments
Against the Belgian, Maria broke first for 4-2 and carried the advantage to clinch the first set 6-3.
A wild smash from Mestach handed the German three break points early in the second set and she would secure it with a backhand drop-shot winner for 2-1. Lifting in confidence with the finish line in sight, she held with a big forehand pass for 5-3 and broke to seal the result when the Belgian’s sliced backhand caught the net.
“She’s a really tough opponent because already I lost to her once,” Maria said. “It was not an easy round for me so I had to concentrate from the beginning to the end but I was a little bit more aggressive towards the end so I was happy that I could win this.”
Currently just outside the top 100, the German was as high as No.62 in the world after her Wimbledon run last year.
She would need to get past Swede Rebecca Peterson next to stand any chance at defending those points from The Championships. For now, it’s back to mother duties.
“Normally I try to not show her emotions when I lose or when I win,” Maria said. “The only time when I cried was really in Roland Garros after my match (she lost a second-round nail-biter to Alize Cornet this year), but otherwise it never happens.”
Women’s No.2 seed Viktorija Golubic did not fare so well. The Swiss No.4 fell 6-4, 6-4 to her countrywoman and friend Amra Sadikovic. The Macedonian-born Sadikovic will take on Chinese Taipei’s Kai-Chen Chang for a place in her maiden Grand Slam main draw.
China’s No.3 seed Kai-Lin Zhang progressed to the final round of qualifying with a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2 win over Czech Tereza Smitkova, while Greek No.5 seed Maria Sakkari advanced with a 7-6(2), 6-2 triumph over Serb Jovana Jaksic. American No.6 seed Lauren Davis suffered an upset at the hands of Austrian Barbara Haas 6-3, 6-3.
Serb No.4 seed Aleksandra Krunic fought back to edge past Belgian Elise Mertens 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, but Ash Barty’s comeback campaign ground to a halt. The 20-year-old Australian fell to Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
