21:56
Conclusion
And that’s the end of it: Jan-Lennard Struff defeats Quentin Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3 and is in the second round in Indian Wells. It didn’t look like it after the first round – the German served very weakly, made many mistakes and couldn’t find a middle against the playful means of his opponent. So the first set was gone after 20 minutes. The sticking point was the first service game in round two: Struff fended off several of his opponent’s breakballs and then used his game ball himself. Shortly thereafter, he broke Halys for the first time and confidently served his way through the set to make it 6:3. In the third round he was able to take the serve away from the French to make it 3:2 and out from behind to make it 6:3. There wasn’t much between the two players today. In the end, Struff was the slightly better return player. He continues in the second round against Tommy Paul from the USA. With this in mind: bye, goodbye and see you next time!
21:53
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3
The noose tightens: Halys has to go over 30:30 on his own serve. Because he then puts a backhand stop in the net, there is the first match ball for Struff – and Halys defends it with nerves of steel with a backhand cross against the direction of his opponent. During the next rally, Struff welds an attempt by the Frenchman to praise the second match point on the court. And this time it works! Halys maneuvers his forehand to the side after a long struff return.
21:48
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 5: 3
Strong thing from the German, who thundered a hard forehand into the Platzeck at 15:0 and was able to extend his lead in this service game. Halys, however, hits back, equalizing both at 30 and making his opponent think – right? think. Struff lasted a long time in the following rally, then he threw the backhand longline winner to the line for the ball. A return error by Halys now puts him under pressure: A break would result in the end of the match.
21:43
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 4: 3
That was fixed. Halys shortened to 3:4 without much resistance from his opponent. Nevertheless, he has to keep chasing a break – and that didn’t work so well in the second set either.
21:41
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 4: 2
One step closer to a successful comeback! Struff is now forcing Halys to make mistakes with his own serve. In the end it is a return error that leads to 4:2 for the Warsteiner. Only two games are missing to win the match.
21:38
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 3: 2
Great rally! At 15 both, Halys first lures his opponent to the net, then plays a good lob over his opponent. Struff runs backwards, plays a somewhat improvised backhand from the turn and is lucky that Halys only throws the easy volley into the net. A few moments later there is actually a breakball for the Sauerland – and he grabs it immediately. He now has the victory in this first round match on his own racquet.
21:32
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 2: 2
The servers are currently doing a good job. Struff also easily keeps his service to 15 and makes the 2: 2 perfect.
21:29
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 1: 2
Halys is initially unimpressed. With powerful serves he keeps the rallies short. Ultimately he packs the 2: 1 in the games to 15, everything is still in line.
21:26
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 1: 1
It almost seems so. Suddenly Struff conceded the 0:30 after slight mistakes, a little later it was 15:40. However, the veteran remains nerve-racking and equalizes at the start. He can also secure the next two counters – and thus equalize to 1: 1.
21:20
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 0: 1
That could have been an exclamation point for Struff. After a solid baseline game, a breakball is ready for him, which Halys fends off with a lot of luck – his emergency backhand drips from the edge of the net into his opponent’s half of the game. The Frenchman then first misses a cue ball, then he fends off another breakball with a fine forehand stop from the baseline. Ultimately, it is the 26-year-old who bagged the game and could have gained a moral advantage.
21:11
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 6: 3, 0: 0
It’s the fourth option! Struff equalizes in the sentences – so we get the decision round!
21:10
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 5: 3
Set balls Struff! Halys completely rips the backhand return at 15:30. The German then wants to do it a little rushed with a serve and volley, but puts the volley into the side. He can’t use the second opportunity either, because Halys’ forehand flies exactly to the line as an inside-in. Thanks to a forced forehand error, Struff then grabs the third set ball, which he leaves behind with a backhand that was too easy. Debut again…
21:06
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 5: 3
Halys stay tuned. The 26-year-old shortened it again to 3:5. But now he needs a break to stay in the sentence.
21:03
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 5: 2
And he does. At 15, the German gets 5: 2 in the games and is about to equalize to 1: 1 in the sets.
21:00
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 4: 2
Suddenly we see the mirror image of the first round: Suddenly Struff has the chance to take a 5-1 lead with a second break – and that’s also worth seeing: At 15: 0 from his point of view, his opponent moves from the half-field to the net on. A forehand shaken out of the wrist passes Halys but great down the line to make it 30-0. In contrast to the first set and Struff, the Frenchman is fighting his way to 2: 4 by winning four points in a row. The Warsteiner must therefore continue to serve well.
20:55
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 4: 1
See, it works! Struff secures three fast game balls, the second of which he uses with an ace through the middle. This is looking really good now.
20:53
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 3: 1
Struff’s box really makes a fuss here with every point won – and there are now two of them in a row. At 0:30, Halys then made a double mistake, giving the German a whopping three breakballs. The second possibility is at the end because the Frenchman only slaps his forehand into the net at full speed. The first break for the Sauerland!
20:49
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 2: 1
That still doesn’t seem completely solid at Struff, even with its own service. Although he is relatively quick in the lead with 40:15, he then nails the ball twice into the net and has to go through the debut. There he bags the next two counters. Everything in order.
20:44
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 1: 1
It seems like the time is right to attack the Frenchman’s serve. Struff also secures the first point, but then he cannot put enough pressure on Halys. He serves quite precisely, secures two game balls and can immediately transform the first one.
20:41
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 1: 0
The fact remains: Halys does not use his break opportunities. Struff also strongly fends off his fifth chance overall. Then it is the 32-year-old himself who pulls the advantage to his side. A return error finally leads to 1:0 for Struff – that should really do him good.
20:39
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 0: 0
The second round begins, this time the Sauerland begins with his own serve. At 15:30, from his point of view, he takes his time enough to receive a warning – and as a consequence he peppers the ball miles wide in the next rally. He can fend off the first breakball with a service winner, the second with powerful baseline play and a forced error from his opponent. Thanks to a slight forehand error by Struff, Halys gets the next break chance, but the German also destroys it with a serve winner. A harmless stop from the half field then invites the nimble Frenchman to make a cross pass, which again gives him the advantage. However, he tears his backhand completely without need. Debut again.
20:31
Struff – Halys 1: 6, 0: 0
Again, it’s very, very fast. In less than a minute and a half, Halys closes the sack with a clean sheet in the first set. So far it’s a day to forget for Struff, who now urgently needs to wake up.
20:28
Struff – Halys 1:5
Important for the German: Hold his own serve. But it doesn’t look that good. Struff messes up the forehand cross at 3:30 p.m. and is faced with two breakballs. Significantly, he serves a double fault to 1: 5 and thus probably to the loss of the set. There are simply not enough first serves.
20:20
Struff – Halys 1:4
Is there something going on with an opposing serve? Struff quickly takes a 30-0 lead, then Halys moves to the net and completes a backhand drawn to the body wonderfully at 15:30. A bad return and a forehand caught too late later, Halys still has play balls, of which he uses the first one right away. Nevertheless: Struff always comes in better.
20:20
Struff – Halys 1:3
Well then, Struff signs up on the scoreboard. A few brisk serves, the last one as an ace, bring him up to 1:3 without losing a point.
20:18
Struff – Halys 0: 3
What Halys is offering here is currently too good. Once again he exerts so much pressure with the forehand that Struff can no longer answer. At 40:0, the French unpacked a fantastic backhand stop that Warsteiner couldn’t really reach. Break confirmed, 0:3 from Struff’s point of view.
20:15
Struff – Halys 0: 2
Struff has more problems on his serve. Halys returns very aggressively, gets three break points fairly easily and after very short rallies. A clean forehand winner then gave the 26-year-old a quick 2-0. That was way too easy.
20:12
Struff – Halys 0: 1
Come on, Halys opens the match with his own service. He is firmly in the lead at 40:15, and uses the first ball to make it 1-0 in the games with a serve and volley.
20:03
Not for long
Both players are now entering the court. In a few minutes it can start here.
19:50
Favorite but poor results
With regard to the world rankings, the 26-year-old man from France is the favorite in the race, as he is around 50 places ahead of the German in the ranking. After a promising start to the year, including reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland, he was only able to convince in Montpellier by reaching the quarter-finals. At the interim Australian Open (against Stefanos Tsitsipas) as well as in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, the first round ended. Unlike Struff, he didn’t have to qualify in Indian Wells – advantage or disadvantage?
19:38
Changeable shape
Struff’s season so far has been a little up and down. So far, the 32-year-old has mainly fought his way through Challenger tournaments, where he has sometimes been better (semi-finals in Canberra in January and in Manama in mid-February) and sometimes weaker (first round in Vilnius at the beginning February) brought in results. The Australian Open was also disappointing: After qualifying successfully, he was defeated in the first round by Tommy Paul from the USA, who would later become semi-finalist, in three rounds. However, there is also good news: In the qualification for Indian Wells he did not drop a set against either the Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux or the Romanian Radu Albot. And: He doesn’t stand a chance against Halys.
19:30
Hello!
Hello and welcome to the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells! With Jan-Lennard Struff, a German is taking part in the tournament today. He gets to deal with the Frenchman Quentin Halys. The surcharge should take place around 20:00.