After the tie-break drama without a happy ending, Jan-Lennard Struff blew through and had to let his disappointment sink in.
The German tennis hopeful missed the crowning glory of a splendid tennis week in Stuttgart after a missed match point. Despite another strong performance, the 33-year-old from Sauerland lost the gripping final of the grass tournament 6: 4, 6: 7 (1: 7), 6: 7 (8: 10) against the American US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe.
“Was a wonderful week for me”
In front of a good 5000 spectators on the sold-out Center Court, Struff had his own match point in the tie-break of the third set, which Tiafoe fended off. “It really hurts to lose the match in front of a German audience,” said Struff after the wafer-thin defeat, but also stated in his speech after the “incredibly tight” match: “It was a wonderful week for me. Today was an incredible one vibe, thank you for the support. It meant so much to me.” Meanwhile, Tiafoe celebrated his triumph: “An incredible match,” he said.
Struff is still waiting for the first title on the ATP tour after his third final. Nevertheless, the Warsteiner travels with a sense of achievement to the next tournament in Halle, Westphalia, in the new week, where French Open semi-finalist Alexander Zverev will also start the grass season.
21st place in the world rankings
Two weeks before Wimbledon, the Sauerland is in top form. His participation in the final pushed him up three places in the world rankings before the Grand Slam tournament from July 3rd to 16th. Struff tops his record (24th) and becomes the German number one again in 21st place – ahead of Olympic champion Zverev. “He’s really playing world class at the moment,” said tennis legend Boris Becker, who crossed his fingers in vain in the stands, to the German Press Agency: “I don’t see any limit.”
With temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, Struff was the better player in the first set one day after his semifinals on Saturday against Hubert Hurkacz from Poland. Determined, he accelerated the groundstrokes and at 3:3 countered Tiafoe’s serves three times as well to get the break. The fact that he made several double faults on serve did not have a negative effect.
The power in the forehand and in the serves was sometimes too strong for Tiafoe. Against the “brutal athlete” (Struff), the Warsteiner kept his nerve for a long time with tight scores – as well as at 4: 5 in the second round when he fended off three set balls from Tiafoe. The American improved, however, in the tie-break Struff had no chance.
Tiafoe too strong
The spectators wanted to drive him to victory, after all there hadn’t been a German winner at the Weissenhof since 1991 when Michael Stich won on a clay court. But the new world number ten Tiafoe (25) was too strong in the end. As a finalist, he has prize money of 63,740 euros. It was also a special week for Struff because his family accompanied him to Stuttgart with his two sons.
Struff’s “incredible run” (Becker) had led the Sauerlander to the Madrid final six weeks ago after failing to qualify at the Masters 1000 tournament. He also lost a final in Munich 2021.
“I think that at 33 he knows more who he is, he’s alive,” explained Becker Struff’s top form. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t play it like this for another two or three years,” said Becker.
