Despite passionate resistance after a weak start, tennis pro Jan-Lennard Struff was eliminated from the ATP tournament in Monte Carlo.
With the 1: 6, 6: 7 (5: 7) against the world number six Andrei Rubljow from Russia, Struff missed making it into the semifinals of a Masters tournament for the first time. For the 32-year-old Warsteiner, who first had to work his way through qualification, reaching the quarter-finals on the Côte d’Azur was a great success.
Struff with starting difficulties
Against Rublev, Struff was initially unable to build on the good performances shown so far and quickly gave up the first set. The Davis Cup player was able to avoid another break in the second round several times, but then gave up his serve to make it 3:4, but immediately reported back with the rebreak. In the tie-break, Rubljow deservedly secured his third win against Struff in the fifth comparison.
In the new world rankings, Struff, who fell back to rank 168 last year, will move up again on Monday. He went into the tournament in Monte Carlo as number 100 in the world.
Zverev complains about unfair behavior
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev was eliminated late Thursday evening in the round of 16. After two missed match balls, the Hamburg player lost 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 7 (7: 9) against Daniil Medvedev and then complained that the former world number one from Russia had behaved unfairly several times.