Surprise at the ATP tournament in Madrid: Jan-Lennard Struff disenchanted the Greek tennis superstar Stefanos Tsitsipas in an outstanding duel.
On Thursday (May 4th, 2023) the German number two beat Tsitsipas 7: 6, 5: 7, 6: 3 after one of the best games of his career. He confirmed his strong form of the last few weeks and for the first time in his tennis career bought a ticket for a Masters semi-final. The Russian Aslan Karatsev will be waiting there on Friday (8 p.m.).
Struff with a brave serve and volley
Struff also set accents from the defensive. In the meantime, Tsitsipas gained the upper hand, but Struff fought back with a courageous serve-and-volley, his shots were variable at the right moments – and the Warsteiner equalized impressively to make it 2-2.
Struff kept up very well and was never discouraged, even when there were arrears. However, the Greek offered little to attack with his own service and secured the 4:3 lead in the first set.
Tie-Break: Struff stays cool and spins behind
But because Struff kept getting good over the forehand, sometimes played even stronger backhands and went to the net with a lot of self-confidence, he first managed to equalize to 4: 4, then to 5: 5. Tsitsipas kept despairing of the wide awake Struff.
The German forced Tsitsipas into the tie-break, which was also hard fought – and Struff turned a deficit, actually securing the first set.
Struff’s service strong at first, then Tsitsipas breaks
Struff also stayed focused in the second set. He won the first game after initial difficulties and fended off Tsitsipas’ fourth break chance of the evening. Both acted strongly in service, Struff’s game on the net remained a weapon.
After a 3:2 lead, Struff had to accept the equaliser, but with his service game he demanded everything from the Greek. With his ninth ace, Struff secured the 5:4. It was then decided by nuances. Tsitsipas showed the higher return quality. He first earned the first break thanks to a double fault by Struff (6: 5), whose concentration dropped a bit – and then Tsitsipas celebrated winning the set.
Boost for Struff: backhand secures break
The risk in the rallies was still high. And Struff also had to remain courageous against the sometimes brilliant Tsitsipas. After losing the set, he immediately made a mark and won the first game. The body language was right.
As a result, Tsitsipas only missed a break chance, Struff defended himself. The Warsteiner’s eleventh ace came just before he pushed through his serve with all his might. Struff finally worked out the first break chance – and used it thanks to the strong backhand. That gave him a boost, even the 4:1 followed.
Strong nerves are rewarded
Struff acted with nerves of steel. He then defended the re-break in a long fight, but instead pulled away to 5:2 and put his opponent under enormous pressure. The 14th ace allowed the match point for Struff. Tsitsipas fended this off in a world-class manner, but Struff then used the second.
