ATP tournament victory against Tsitsipas: Struff in the quarterfinals in Halle
Jan-Lennard Struff will now face world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. Photo
© Friso Gentsch/dpa
Jan-Lennard Struff followed Alexander Zverev into the quarterfinals in Halle. The local hero pulled off a surprise. Now he’s up against the number one in the world.
Jan-Lennard Struff caused a surprise at the grass tournament in Halle, Westphalia. The 34-year-old from Warstein won his round of 16 match against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Terra Wortmann Open with 6:4, 6:4, thus completing a quarter-final duel with world number one Jannik Sinner. The Italian had previously defeated the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan with 6:4, 6:7 (4:7), 6:3.
This means that spectators in Halle will be able to see two quarterfinals involving German players on Friday. In the second match of the day, Alexander Zverev will face Frenchman Arthur Fils. Sinner and Struff will then play against each other. Zverev defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego in two sets on Wednesday.
Struff is looking forward to the grass duel
“This is a very special victory for me. Halle is my home tournament, and being in the quarterfinals here is very special,” said Struff. He is particularly looking forward to the duel with Sinner. “I recently played against him once on hard court and once on clay. Now on grass, I’m looking forward to the next duel.”
Struff showed a strong performance against Tsitsipas from the start. The Davis Cup pro managed a quick break to make it 3:2, and after half an hour he took the first set to the cheers of the spectators. Struff continued to play with concentration in the second set and made only a few mistakes. The Warsteiner served strongly, and the effects of his gastrointestinal illness were no longer noticeable. Struff had to give up last week at the Boss Open in Stuttgart due to an infection and was only able to train again at the beginning of the week.
Sinner improves in the match
Sinner had more trouble with Marozsan than expected. Due to a lack of concentration, Sinner unexpectedly had to give up the second set, but quickly got back on track in the third set and avoided a surprise elimination.
Hubert Hurkacz also made it to the quarterfinals. The Pole, who won the German grass court classic in 2022, beat Australian qualifier James Duckworth 7:6 (7:3), 6:4. Hurkacz served 17 aces. In the first quarterfinal on Friday (12:00 p.m.) he will face American Marcos Giron, who eliminated Italian Matteo Berrettini.
dpa
#Subjects
