Tennis pro Jan-Lennard Struff has confirmed his strong form by reaching the quarterfinals of the grass tournament in Stuttgart. With nerves of steel, the 33-year-old from Sauerland won his round of 16 against the American Tommy Paul 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:5).
Against the world number 16. Struff had not won a set in four games before. "I'm just happy that I was able to get my first win in the fifth comparison. That the first win in front of a German audience was all the better," said Struff in the winner's interview.
This time, the number 24 in the world resolutely grabbed the chance in the tie-break and secured the decisive advantage with a forehand pass ball. With an ace, he made it clear in the first encounter with Paul on grass that he won the first set.
Strong serve makes the difference
In the second round, the former Stuttgart semi-finalist fell behind with a break right after the first game, but struggled back and continued to be positive and self-confident. He equalized again to make it 3:3. Struff had the first match ball at 6: 5, he then used the third - again it was an ace in the tie-break. His total of 21 aces was a deciding factor.
In the quarter-finals on Friday (not before 5 p.m./ServusTV and Sky), Struff surprisingly has to deal with Richard Gasquet and not with the top seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Frenchman defeated the Greek fifth in the world rankings 7: 6 (10: 8), 2: 6, 7: 5 in the round of 16.
Struff can understand the special pressure described by Alexander Zverev at tournaments in Germany. "I know it well," said the 33-year-old after reaching the quarter-finals. "You want to play well in German tournaments. That's probably what Sascha means. I've had it very often in the past that I might not have performed so well," said Struff, among other things, with a view to his first-round defeats in the Westphalian Hall.
Struff was the only German participant in the round of 16 of the event, which was endowed with 797,730 euros. Hamburg's Alexander Zverev himself, who had contested his semi-finals at the French Open just three days before the start of the tournament in Stuttgart, canceled due to thigh problems. Daniel Altmaier from Kempen and last year's semi-finalist Oscar Otte from Cologne lost in the first round.
