Jan-Lennard Struff wants to fight his way back up
Jan-Lennard Struff was eliminated from the ATP Tour 500 tournament in HalleWestfalen on Monday against Ilya Ivashka. In an interview with the DTB, the Warsteiner defined ambitious goals regardless of his performance at the home tournament.
by DTB/PM
last edit: Jun 14, 2022, 03:21 pm
How are you doing after your enforced break? Are you fit again?
Actually, yes - the foot is fine. I got through the first tournament in Stuttgart without any problems and showed that it was my turn and that I could win matches. That was very positive. Of course I still have to train a lot to catch up and I have to find the necessary match practice again. But otherwise I feel good.
What have you been up to in the meantime?
I couldn't do much for the first few days because I wasn't allowed to put any weight on my foot to prevent the fracture from moving. We have had regular check ups to monitor the healing and see how I can get back on. I worked a lot in the gym and also played tennis – hit a few balls so I didn't lose my rhythm.
Of course, I also had more time for my family – for example, I was able to take my son to daycare in the morning. But I had to hold myself back and couldn't walk around a lot because my foot hurt and I didn't want the injury to get worse.
You've slipped quite a bit in the rankings, even dropped out of the top 100. Does that bother you?
I didn't play well at the beginning of the year. And because of the injury, I missed the clay-court season, in which I can always score quite a few points. I've lost all of them from last year. So the timing was really bitter. But I also noticed that I needed the break a bit. But I'm happy to come back. Of course it's stupid to see when you slip down the rankings like that. You can't hide that so easily. But I will do everything to fight my way back up the field.
You're back on grass now – you don't play on the surface that often. How was it for you?
You play shorter rallies on grass, which is actually quite good for beginners. On grass it is difficult to find the return at the beginning and to move properly on the ground. Sometimes the ball slips through - that's a completely different game. I think if I had entered the French Open after everyone else had already played on clay for the weeks before, it would have been much more difficult for me. So maybe it was quite fitting to come back to grass now.
Daniel Altmaier, Oscar Otte, Yannick Hanfmann, Kevin Krawietz, Andreas Mies, Tim Pütz - there are many German players at the start in Halle. Do you spend time together often?
You are very close together in Halle because everyone lives in the same hotel on the site. So you do a lot together. We always do a lot together at other tournaments too. We all have a good relationship, play cards together, go out to dinner...
What are your plans for the rest of the season? Are you looking forward to the Davis Cup in Hamburg?
I want to get back in the top 100. I want to do that by the end of the year. It's now about fighting my way back - also to the Davis Cup team. Because of course I want to be there in Hamburg. It's awesome that we brought it to Germany. We qualified as a team, we get along really well and always have a great time at Davis Cup.