ATP Masters Madrid: Sensational Struff wrestles Tsitsipas down
Fantastic performance by Jan-Lennard Struff (ATP No. 65) in the semifinals at the ATP Masters tournament in Madrid - In an exciting and high-quality match, the German "Lucky Loser" defeated No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7:6, 5: 7, 6: 3 and continues his dream run in the Spanish capital.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit: May 04, 2023, 10:57 pm
Before the match against Jan-Lennard Struff, the role of favorite went to Stefanos Tsitsipas, albeit not clearly. Of the five previous meetings on the ATP tour, the German Davis Cup player was able to win two matches, including the only clash on clay in Barcelona in 2019.
Struff started the game courageously from the start and tried to keep the rallies short with his aggressive game. In his second service game, the Warsteiner was faced with two breakballs at 15:40, which he was able to bravely fend off. When the score was 4: 5, the 33-year-old had to fend off a set ball against the strongly returning Tsitsipas and thus postponed the decision. Despite being 1: 4 behind in the tie-break, Struff continued to believe in himself and secured the first round 7: 5.
Determined to turn the game around, Tsitsipas started the second act with concentration and had a break chance in the first game, but the Greek couldn't take it. This was followed by sovereign service games on both sides. In the eleventh game at 15:40 two break chances for 24-year-old Tsitsipas. Struff fended off the first with a service winner before he had to give up his service with a double fault. The No. 5 in the world equalized the set with a service game without losing a point.
After a smooth service game by Tsitsipas, Struff struggled for a long time in his service game, but won it after defending two breakballs. In the subsequent service game of the former ATP world champion, Stuff had a break chance with a backhand winner longline, which he was able to use with another strong backhand. As a result, he was able to hold his service games and served at a score of 5:3 to win the match. At 40:30 the first match ball, which Tsitsipas was able to fend off with a sensational forehand pass ball after a strong volley. At the second opportunity to end the match, Struff served a kick to the outside, which Tsitsipas was unable to bring back into the field. After 2:21 hours of play, the 7: 6 (5), 5: 7, 6: 3 success was celebrated.
In his first semi-final at Masters level, there is a rematch against Aslan Karatsev, who defeated the surprise Chinese man Zhizhen Zhang 7:6 (3), 6:4. In the qualifying final, Struff lost to the native Russian in two sets and later slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser.