The 26-year-old Kontaveit could not counter the German’s huge groundstrokes and looked progressively more downhearted as she failed to find her range on a sunny No.1 court.
Estonian Kontaveit has talked about suffering fatigue this year following a Covid-19 infection and has not played a match since the French Open last month where she was beaten in the first round.
She looked out of sorts against Niemeier, spraying groundstrokes long and wide and making 24 unforced errors in a match lasting 58 minutes.
Niemeier, 22, and ranked 97 in the world after injury problems disrupted her early progress on the tour, jumped and punched the air when Kontaveit put yet another shot into the net on match point.
“It’s amazing,” she told an appreciative lunchtime crowd. “It’s one of the greatest wins of my career so far.”
Niemeier said she was nervous before the match on a show court. “But I love to play on grass … it suits my game.”
She will play either Anhelina Kalinina or Lesia Tsurenko, both from Ukraine, in the third round.
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