US Open: Struff faces another duel with Djokovic - "I go out believing that I can do it"
It doesn't take Jan-Lennard Struff long to explain what matters in the tennis world. When it comes to Novak Djokovic , the best in the world, Struff has a brief analysis ready: “An incredibly good player, incredibly tough. He can drive you crazy. He brings back almost every ball. "
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 04, 2020, 08:06 am
On Friday, Struff (30), the German number two, meets the Capitano again at the Grand Slam tournament in New York, only last week he had faced him as a loser at the Cincinnati Masters, which was also held in the Big Apple. So now the US Open, and unfortunately the reunion of the giant with the dazzling number one man takes place in the third round. "Somehow a stupid thing," says Struff (ATP 29), the German surprise professional of the last two years, "but I go out believing that I can do it."
Struff wasn't always so confident. But in addition to its earlier phlegm and a good trace of frugality, the 196-centimeter tower from Warstein has also left behind false modesty on the long way up. Struff knows what he can do. And he doesn't hide his ambitions either. "I fought hard for the feeling, the certainty of being able to beat each of the guys out there," says Struff. In New York he can feel at every turn, so to speak, where it has taken him in the world of work. As a sedentary player, Struff lives in a secluded suite on Center Court, a small refuge that would originally have been open to the sponsor "New York Times" and its guests. “It's a great thing,” says Struff, “fridge, massage bench, sofa, coffee machine, everything is there.” And by the way, he can also watch the matches in the Ashe Stadium, the games of the big and strong and celebrities, from a lofty height.
Kohlmann: "He has become a different player"
Over the past two years he has played himself closer to this elite group. Slowly and persistently I kept moving forward, with an unbelievable amount of training effort, with high physical effort, with the urge to want to make the most of every exercise unit. “Hey, that's not enough anymore”, he called himself to order, says Struff, “you can't be happy if you win a round at a top tournament if you only look good in big matches.” Together with Coach Carsten Arriens not only meticulously refined the more ambitious Struff on his game, but also on his attitude, on the attitude to his profession. Motto: Don't be afraid of big names. And: 100 percent commitment, in every game, every second. Struff has “powerfully” gained in stature, says Davis Cup boss Michael Kohlmann, “he has become a completely different player. Also because he acts with a lot more dynamism and emotions. ”Struffi, the somewhat ridiculed giant, has long since become Struff. One who, above all, no longer needs to be said to make the possible impossible.
Struff, who has matured his role as a new father, only rarely makes serious mistakes on the tennis nomads' hiking tour. “He wins what he has to win as a top player. And also provides surprises against even stronger rivals, "says DTB boss Boris Becker," he really gets out what is possible. "Struff has turned a few adjusting screws quite efficiently in order to accelerate his career again. His serve has always been good, his most valuable weapon. But for a year or two, my dear colleagues have feared his service even more, and breaks against the giant have become far less common. In 2019 he slammed 668 aces into the opposing field, with 80 percent of his first serves he also scored a point. At the same time, as a single fighter, he benefited from the good attacking game that he acquired as one of the world's best double players: "When I turn up on the net, many people look strangely from the laundry."
Djokovic is warned
For Struff, the months of standstill were by no means just a loss. He had a lot of time for the family, for his son Henri and for his girlfriend Madeleine. When the training was allowed again with a special permit at the federal base in Kamen, he and his lecturer Arriens “pounded it in”: “It was a killer program. I built up a lot of substance.” Before long, long matches, he had don't worry, not in New York, not anywhere else.
Despite a flawless 4-0 win record, Djokovic has been adequately warned against the German, whom he will now meet for the third time in the last five Grand Slams: “If you are not wide awake, he can give you the mighty service and the mighty blows hard to put under pressure. ”And what about Struff himself, the man whose baseball cap says“ Never give up ”? He not only wants to “heat things up” for the favorite in this spectacular third round, he also wants to get the last, decisive point: “That would be amazing then.”