Tennis player Jule Niemeier takes a lot of self-confidence with her from the bitter knockout round at the US Open against world number one Iga Swiatek.

The impressive first sentence, in which the Dortmund player really disenchanted the top seeded Pole, is now the benchmark. "If I can play that against the number one in the world, then I can do that against the others," said the 23-year-old. "If I can keep that constant over the next few months and years, I can become very, very dangerous on the tour and beat a lot of good players."

At the last Grand Slam tournament of the year in New York, it wasn't quite enough against Swiatek: Niemeier lost 6: 2, 4: 6, 0: 6 and, unlike two months ago in Wimbledon, missed the quarterfinals. She feels "a lot of frustration," admitted Niemeier, "but if I reflect on it a bit in the next few days and calm down, there will also be a bit of pride." In the world rankings, Germany's tennis hope will make a big leap forward from currently 108th place.

She will now "fly back, rest for a few days and start training again," revealed Niemeier. The success of her third Grand Slam tournament made her hungry for more. "Just because I've played one or two good tournaments doesn't mean it's the end," said the dynamic and powerful Niemeier, who above all wants to continue working on her fitness. According to national coach Barbara Rittner, that was the decisive factor against Swiatek in the end: "She ran out of strength. A few grains were missing."