Jan-Lennard Struff before the Davis Cup in Malaga: "Special energy in the team"
Jan-Lennard Struff is expected to be the German number two in the Davis Cup quarter-finals against Canada next week in Malaga. In an interview with the German Tennis Association (DTB), the Warsteiner is optimistic.
by p.m
last edit:
Nov 18, 2022, 03:22 pm
Jan-Lennard, almost two months have passed since your furious performances at the Davis Cup in Hamburg. How have you been in the meantime?
It was an exciting time for me. In mid-October I became the father of a son for the second time. Of course, that outshines everything else. I really wanted to be there at the birth. That's why I was out for almost three weeks after the Davis Cup and the tournament in Sofia to support my wife at home and be there in time.
How do you reconcile being a professional athlete and a father?
It's always a difficult tightrope walk. On the one hand, I'm aware that I'm 32 and my time as a professional athlete is limited. I want to do everything I can to be successful in the remaining years. At this level, that means investing a lot of time and effort without compromise. This is only possible thanks to the strong support of my wife. On the other hand, I know very well that the time when my children grow up will not come back either. That's why I always try to be at home as much as possible.
How have you been sportingly? Did you feel the victories from Hamburg in your back?
Definitive. Immediately afterwards I continued to play at a very good level in Sofia and won four matches in a row. After the baby break I wanted too much, started again too early in Basel and lost right away. At the Challenger in Bergamo I was back at the Davis Cup level and was able to reach the final.
As an outsider, you sometimes have the feeling that in tennis a ball can influence a development over weeks. Do you see it that way too?
That's for sure. If I hadn't saved the match points in the first game in Hamburg against Bonzi and turned the game around, the following games would probably have gone differently. On the other hand, at the ATP tournament in Hamburg against Khachanov, I had match points that I couldn't use and ended up losing. That also had an impact on the following weeks, which were difficult for me. Tennis is a brutal sport at times, where so much depends on the mind, the little things and luck at the right moment.
In Málaga, if you are called up, you could face Denis Shapovalov, who you have often played against. How do you rate him?
Yes, if Michael picks me up, it could be our ninth game. I've beaten him a few times, but I've lost two of the last three matches against him. He's also won against me more often on hardcourt, which is where I find him strongest. He's an incredibly good player who's having an incredible year and I enjoy watching myself. He has brutal groundstrokes, a good serve, is extremely athletic and on the court like a bouncy ball that doesn't lose a ball. We almost always had very good and close matches against each other. I expect a tough fight.
In addition to Shapovalov, Canada currently have one of the best players in the world in Félix Auger-Aliassime. How do you rate your chances?
You already have an incredibly good team. You just have to acknowledge that. We are definitely the underdogs in Malaga. But we really don't have to hide and believe in our chance. Then we can also do something against Canada.
The strong sense of togetherness in your team is repeatedly emphasized from all sides. Do you think that good team spirit can help to beat even nominally better teams?
In any case. We already proved last year at the finals in Innsbruck that this special energy that we have in the team can unleash great strength. We are now spending a few days together in Austria before the Davis Cup. We only had a limited number of rooms available, but wanted as many of the support staff as possible to come with us. All the players immediately said that the two of them would go into the room and take the sofa. That just shows the spirit in this team.