Powerful serve, strong body language and steady nerves: Jan-Lennard Struff has had a successful start at Wimbledon. The German number two from Warstein won his opening match on Monday (July 1, 2024) 6:4, 6:7 (4:7), 6:2, 6:3 against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsán. Daniel Altmaier also reached the second round.
When the freshly blonde Jan-Lennard Struff and the worn-out Daniel Altmaier had long since enjoyed their first-round victories, Yannick Hanfmann was just beginning to really tickle the world number one on Court No. 1 at Wimbledon. The 32-year-old demanded everything from the South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner with a performance that was impressive at times – but ultimately missed a big surprise against one of the top favorites for the title with a 3:6, 4:6, 6:3, 3:6 defeat.
Hanfmann played well and courageously, but that wasn’t enough against the Australian Open champion and Wimbledon co-favorite in the first two sets. The 32-year-old had to give up his serve once in each of the first two rounds – and was thus 0:2 down in sets.
Partly inspiring tennis from Hanfmann
When he managed to break for the first time at the beginning of the third set, the underdog erupted in encouraging applause on the second-largest court. The audience was even more keen to continue watching tennis. Hanfmann even took a 4-0 lead and won a number of inspiring points. Curiously, the German managed to score a point with a volley while falling, making it 5-2. A little later, he actually won the third set.
Then there was a break because the roof was closed. The fourth round then developed early in favor of the favorite.
Struff presents himself confidently
After a difficult start, the 34-year-old Struff quickly fought his way into the match and was the more offensive player against the world number 43. The Munich winner quickly got over the annoying set loss and safely secured the win. Struff will now face Zhang Zhizhen (China/No. 32) in the second round.
“It was a difficult game. I am very happy with the way I played and won,” said Struff.
Struff’s best performance on the “holy turf” so far was reaching the third round in 2018 and 2019, and he wants to continue this year if possible.
Altmaier takes advantage of favorable draw
Altmaier defeated British outsider Arthur Fery 4:6, 7:6 (8:6), 1:6, 6:3, 6:1 after an up and down match. He had treatment on his right hip and buttocks and fought through after 3 hours and 45 minutes. This meant he was able to take advantage of the favorable draw against the wildcard holder and is in the second round of Wimbledon for the first time. Altmaier will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov there. “It’s a 100 percent open match,” said the Kempen native, who wants to improve his game.
Defending champion Alcaraz reaches second round
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, one of the top favorites, struggled to get through his first round match. The 21-year-old Spaniard beat qualifier Mark Lajal from Estonia 7:6 (7:3), 7:5, 6:2 on Monday. Despite the close first two rounds, Alcaraz avoided losing a set, but only became dominant in the third set.
“He played a very good match,” said Alcaraz, praising his opponent. Lajal surprised him a little because he hadn’t seen him very often before. In the second round, Alcaraz will face the winner of the match between Austrian Sebastian Ofner and Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
End for Lys and Korpatsch
No luck on her Wimbledon debut: Tennis pro Eva Lys missed out on success on her first appearance on the “hallowed grass”. The 22-year-old from Hamburg lost to the French world number 45 Clara Burel 2:6, 4:6 on the opening day in London. Tamara Korpatsch also had to give up her hopes after a disappointing 2:6, 1:6 defeat to the British Yuriko Lily Miyazaki.
“It was an incredible experience, but you could see that I was not able to show my best performance on the pitch today,” said Lys: “I tried to prepare myself but was still a bit taken aback.”
Lys had made it through the qualifications into the main draw and thus closed her last Grand Slam gap. But she started nervously against Burel and made more avoidable mistakes than her opponent.
2024-07-01 20:26:00
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