Jan-Lennard Struff caused a big tennis surprise at the French Open. According to Boris Becker, the 36-year-old simply loves the big stage.
“Grand Slam tennis suits our man. The last time he played really well was at the US Open last year,” enthused the “Eurosport” expert after Struff’s 7:5, 6:7 (6:8), 6:4, 7:5 in the first round against Alexander Bublik.
Struff made it to the round of 16 at the US Open 2025 and only had to admit defeat to Novak Djokovic there. In Paris, the German tennis veteran Bublik, number nine on the seeding list, was knocked out of the tournament.
“In the past, Struffi was sometimes too emotional. That also takes energy. Today he was calmer even in worse moments and even in good phases he wasn’t overly happy. Maybe that’s the right way,” analyzed Becker.
French Open: Struff meets qualifier
Struff will face Jaime Faria in the second round of the French Open on Thursday. The Portuguese qualifier surprisingly prevailed against Canadian Denis Shapovalov (6:4, 7:5, 6:4) at the start.
“This is a very difficult opponent that I trained with last year. But I hope I can carry the momentum with me,” said Struff, looking ahead to his next challenge in Paris. “Struffi” said he was “in the mood” and was looking forward to the upcoming performance.
In 2019 and 2021, the 36-year-old reached the round of 16 at the French Open. The Warstein native has never gone further in a Grand Slam tournament.
Struff is currently ranked 80th in the world tennis rankings. With a good performance in Paris, the right-hander could climb. On Thursday Becker will also take a close look at Struff at the French Open.
