ATP Masters Monte-Carlo: Rublev stops Struff's triumphal march
Davis Cup player Jan-Lennard Struff's triumph at the ATP Masters in Monte Carlo is over. The qualifier lost the quarterfinals against the Russian Andrey Rubley 1:6, 6:7 (5) on Friday and was the last German to be eliminated. The day before, top player Alexander Zverev had failed in three sets against Rublew's compatriot Daniil Medvedev.
by SID
last edit: Apr 14, 2023, 01:09 pm
Struff only found the match against Rublew in the second set. The 32-year-old immediately regained his lost service game - despite the subsequent 5: 4 lead, it wasn't enough for the next surprise in the end. After 1:39 hours, the number five seeded Russian converted his second match point in the tie-break.
Struff, who had prevailed against Casper Ruud (Norway), Alex de Minaur (Australia) and Albert Ramos Vinolas (Spain) on the way to the quarter-finals, was only in the top eight in the highly paid Masters series for the second time in his career. In 2020 in Cincinnati he had reached his first Masters quarterfinals and lost there to Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas demanded against Fritz
The 22-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia was the top seeded player in the 6.2 million euro clay court tournament, but failed in the round of 16 against 21-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti. Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) is challenged in the quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz (USA).
Rafael Nadal is still missing after his hip injury, the Spaniard also announced on Friday that he will not play next week's ATP tournament in Barcelona. His compatriot Carlos Alcaraz also canceled his participation in Monte Carlo due to an injury to his left hand suffered in Miami and problems with his spine.
The next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open in Paris, starts on May 28th.
Here the individual tableau in Monte Carlo
montemap