Jan-Lennard Struff

[Damian]

German Jan-Lennard Struff continued his strong season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against wild card and 2014 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Struff dominated on serve, saving the only break point he faced, and the World No. 35 won 51 per cent of his return points, breaking four times. Struff will play No. 13 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili or Monte-Carlo finalist Dusan Lajovic.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/raonic- ... 019-monday

[Damian]

German Jan-Lennard Struff continued his strong season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against wild card and 2014 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Struff dominated on serve, saving the only break point he faced, and the World No. 35 won 51 per cent of his return points, breaking four times.

Struff will play No. 13 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, who fought past Monte-Carlo finalist Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Basilashvili has won six consecutive matches after celebrating his second Hamburg European Open title last month

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/wawrink ... 019-monday

[Damian]

Struff Hangs Tough To Upset Tsitsipas; Medvedev Next In Cincinnati

Spoiler:

Jan-Lennard Struff packed a punch at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday to record his fifth win in his past 10 matches against Top 10 opponents. The German weathered two comebacks from third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(6) victory over two hours and 14 minutes in Cincinnati.

Struff struck 16 aces, won 85 per cent of his first-service points and came through his eighth win in 10 matches featuring a deciding-set tie-break, to set up a third-round clash against another 2019 Nitto ATP Finals contender, Daniil Medvedev, on Thursday.

“It was a great match, he is such a good player,” Struff told ATPTour.com. “I managed to win in Barcelona [in April], so I knew I had a good chance. I had a chance to serve it out at 6-4, 5-4, but he broke back and that’s the quality he has. The quality I had today was coming back from that: the chance to win the match in two sets, then at 6/3 in the [third set] tie-break and then from 6/6. He was playing very well. I was telling myself, ‘I have to go for it, otherwise I won’t win.'

"I've been working hard with my team, on my fitness, and it’s all finally paying off and I’m playing with greater consistency.”

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The 29-year-old Struff produced heavyweight firepower to lead by a set and 2-0, but a stunning backhand return winner from Tsitsipas, on his first break point of the match at 4-5 in the second set, provided impetus for the #NextGenATP Greek star to recover.

Fifth seed Tsitsipas showed great maturity in his shot selection to recover four straight points from 0/30 when serving at 4-5 in the decider. Struff led 4/1 in the third set tie-break, but saw Tsitsipas save three match points from 3/6 before he found a way to victory.

Struff improves to a 28-19 match record in 2019, which includes semi-final runs at the ASB Classic in Auckland (l. to Norrie) and the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart (l. to Berrettini). He’ll now look to notch his first win over Medvedev, who has won their two previous FedEx ATP Head2Head matches at 2016 Hamburg and 2017 Marseille.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/stuff-t ... -wednesday

[Damian]

[Damian]

Struff Has An Opinion, And Is Having His Best Season

Spoiler:

German upset Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday in Cincinnati
Editor's Note: This story was originally published 2 June 2019.

To many, it might seem like a forgettable moment, a request typical of a player to a coach. But to coach Carsten Arriens, what Jan-Lennard Struff said to him during his first-round match at Roland Garros explains everything about why his player has a chance to upset No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Monday and reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

Struff was down 0-3 against #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov. But more importantly, the German couldn't see his coach during changeovers.

Arriens and Struff's physio, Uwe Liedtke, were seated in a corner behind a baseline, and, during sitdowns, the chair umpire was blocking Struff's view of them.

For years, Arriens had asked Struff if he minded where he sat. “Oh, no. I don't care,” the soft-spoken Struff would say, waving off the question.

But lately, in between and away from the tramlines, Struff has been speaking up more often and showing that he's not OK just going along with the flow – a pattern that's extended to his tennis.

After the first changeover, Struff rose from his chair, walked over to his coach and, before play resumed, instructed Arriens in the way only a self-described “quiet guy, enjoying life” could.

“Hey,” Struff said, “Can you sit somewhere else, please?”

To Arriens, it was a moment to celebrate. “Yes! Yes!” he said, pumping his fist as he recalled the story in the players' restaurant beneath Court Philippe Chatrier.

Struff was taking control of the situation, which is why his coach says he's into the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time and, as Arriens predicted last December, is having the best season of his career at 29 years old.

“He's becoming a person with an opinion and telling the opinion and I can see that on the court,” Arriens told ATPTour.com.

You May Also Like: Five Things To Know About Struff
Struff had reached two Grand Slam third rounds (2018 Wimbledon, 2018 US Open) before making the Round of 16 this fortnight, beating 17th seed Shapovalov, Delray Beach champion Radu Albot and 13th seed Borna Coric. He'll face 2016 champion Djokovic for a place in his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

From 2014-2018, Struff went 2-13 against Top 10 opponents. But this year, he's 3-2, including victories earlier this clay-court season against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Marin Cilic.

“I like the game on clay. You have a little bit more time. I have hard groundstrokes, and I have time to set them up,” Struff told ATPTour.com.

But the German, despite growing up on the surface, never had the results he's had this year, which, Arriens said, is because he's never been as intentional as he is now.

In the past four years, it didn't matter the topic, Struff would often waffle or defer to his natural politeness.

Practising? He'd groove the ball nice and easy down the middle so the other player could have a good session. Hungry? “Oh, you choose the restaurant, you choose the restaurant,” Struff would say. If he played against fellow Germans, Arriens said, Struff always felt like he needed to be friendly while playing.

Arriens would encourage him to be more decisive. He'd warn him that not choosing a restaurant might also lead to not following his forehand to the net.

“Listen, this is exactly the pattern on the court when you don't know what to do and you're just following whatever,” Arriens remembers telling him. “I want you to be consciously following a pattern on the court and a game plan, but in order to do that, you have to decide and you have to choose.”

More From #RG19:
Tsitsipas Reflects On Five-Hour Fourth-Round Loss To Wawrinka
After Five Hours, Wawrinka Escapes Tsitsipas To Make QF
Fognini On Fatherhood & Fantastic Form

Struff would waver during matches: Sometimes he'd hang back, other times he'd go forward. But lately, and especially the past eight months, Struff has been intentional on the court.

He's attacking – at Roland Garros, he's gone to net 129 times, winning 66 per cent of those attempts (86/129) – and he's questioning Arriens every day about how they work.

“Before he was just following, not asking. Now it's, 'Why do we do this exercise, and what is it for? We should do it this way,'” Arriens said.

Struff gives his input on match game plans as well. “Maybe we should do 1, 2 and 4 and not 3,” Arriens said. “When it's clear, he's coming back to it all the time. If he's losing [the plan] for a game or two, he's coming back to it.”

The plan has been working: come forward as often as possible, stay out of the corners, and keep the points short. Let his emotions, and the crowd, help him as well.

In the first game of Struff's third-round match against Coric, which the German won 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(1), 11-9, Struff was following his plan to be more vocal, shouting, “Come on!” and clenching his fist.

Infosys powers real-time insights for every point

“Two years ago, three years ago, he wouldn't do that once in a match,” Arriens said. “He's 29, but he's still developing a lot.”

His peers have noticed. Shapovalov, who went 1-1 against Struff during the clay-court season, called him a “dark horse”.

“He's a guy you don't want to see in the draw,” Shapovalov, No. 24 in the ATP Rankings, said of Struff, No. 45.

Coric, after his four-hour and 22-minute match with the German, added: “He's not afraid.”

The praise matters to Struff, but not as much as a win against Djokovic and a place in the last eight would.

“With the quotes from Shapo I realise, OK, they have a high opinion of me as well,” Struff told ATPTour.com. “It feels good to hear that but I try to work on that, to get my ranking higher and higher so that the opinion gets even better.”

If Struff shocks Djokovic, the world's opinion – and his coach's of him – would jump to its highest level yet, and his coach would, no question, have another moment to celebrate.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/struff- ... r4-feature

[Kamileki]

[Kamileki]

[arti]

[Damian]

The American improves to 29-12 in New York and will now take on German Jan-Lennard Struff, who defeated #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Struff defeated Tsitsipas earlier this month in Cincinnati.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-i ... 19-tuesday

[Damian]

USO19: pewne otwarcie.

Jan-Lennard Struff d. Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 6-2

[Damian]

Jan-Lennard Struff needed just 44 minutes to race past Gregoire Barrere of France 6-2, 6-1. The seventh-seeded German won 23 of 24 first-serve points and converted five of seven break points to record his fifth win in seven matches at the ATP 250 event. Struff has reached the quarter-finals in each of his two previous appearances in Antwerp (2016, ’18).

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/murray- ... 19-tuesday

[Damian]

German Jan-Lennard Struff eliminated Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to set a second-round match against defending champion Karen Khachanov, the eighth seed.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/cilic-c ... 019-monday

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Struff Stops Defending Champion Khachanov In Paris

Spoiler:

Fritz beats fellow American Tiafoe

Jan-Lennard Struff completed the seventh Top 10 win of his career on Tuesday with a smash winner from the baseline at the Rolex Paris Masters. The 29-year-old German held his nerve to record a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 victory over World No. 8 Karen Khachanov, the defending champion, in two hours.

Struff will now prepare to face 10th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini, a contender for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, or French wild card and 2008 titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round on Thursday.

Struff clinched the 46-minute first set with a backhand return winner at 5/5 in the tie-break, followed by his eighth ace. But Khachanov won 12 of the first 17 points for a 3-0 lead in the second set.

World No. 36 Struff could not capitalise on a 3-1 advantage in the final set, broken by Khachanov in the fifth game. But leading 6-5, Struff converted his first match point with his 43rd winner, a cleanly hit smash from the baseline. Khachanov, who is now 29-26 on the season, had previously beaten Struff in three sets at the Noventi Open in June.

You May Also Like: Struff Has An Opinion, And Is Having His Best Season
Earlier in the day, Taylor Fritz recorded his 30th match win of the year to beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe. Fritz saved one set point in the first set tie-break on his debut at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and ultimately triumphed 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and two minutes.

The 22-year-old Fritz led 4/1 in the tie-break, but Tiafoe won five of the next six points, only to mis-hit a backhand approach shot on set point. Tiafoe opened up a 3-0 lead in the second set and recovered from 1-4 down in the decider, only to be broken in the final game.

Fritz, who captured his first ATP Tour title at the Nature Valley International (d. Querrey) in June, will next play fifth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has already qualified for next month’s Nitto ATP Finals in London.

Tiafoe, a five-time ATP Tour quarter-finalist this year, drops to a 21-25 match record and will now prepare for next week’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

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Corentin Moutet, who came into the main draw as a lucky loser following the withdrawal of fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet, made the most of his opportunity by beating Dusan Lajovic, this year’s Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag titlist, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in one hour and 44 minutes.

“I'm very satisfied,” said Moutet, who had lost to Jeremy Chardy in the final round of qualifying on Sunday. “I tried to regain focus for this tournament, and I'm glad that I managed to get the upper hand and to continue on that path… My mind was not completely off the tournament. I was waiting until Wednesday to make sure that there was no empty seat for me.”

It was a first match win at an Masters 1000 tournament for the World No. 94, who will now face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the four-time former champion, in the second round on Wednesday.

When asked about facing Djokovic, the Frenchman added, “I don't want to say that I'm impressed by him or any other player. But I have a lot of respect for his career because he's been No. 1 for many years. He's won a lot of Grand Slams. He's managed to find his bearings and his place among the best. He is the best player in the world. He's No. 1 right now. He's very consistent. He often wins in tournaments. I will try not to be unworthy and to be better than him.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/khachan ... 19-tuesday

[Kamileki]

Bercy19: obrońca tytułu pokonany!

Jan-Lennard Struff d. [8] Karen Chaczanow 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5

[Razing]

[arti]

2019 w liczbach:

Ranking: 35
Bilans meczów: 35-29
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $1,416,549

[Damian]

Struff On ATP Cup: 'I Think It’s Going To Be Really Great'

Spoiler:

World No. 35 hopes to help Germany through Group F in Brisbane
Jan-Lennard Struff enjoyed the best season of his career in 2019, climbing to a career-high No. 33 in the ATP Rankings, reaching two ATP Tour semi-finals and earning five wins against Top 10 opponents.

The 29-year-old will hope to carry that momentum into 2020, beginning the new season at the inaugural ATP Cup. Struff is Germany’s No. 2 singles player, and he will hope to help his country advance out of Group F, which also consists of Greece, Canada and Australia. Struff speaks to ATPTour.com about his German idols growing up, what makes competing on a team special, and more.

Which countrymen did you watch growing up and what did you admire about them?
A lot of players: Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer, really a lot of them. Those are the two biggest names, I would say. I liked the way they played, I liked the style they played.

Tommy was an inspiration for me. When I played him in Munich and in Kitzbuhel it was unreal to play him. It was just crazy because he played his last match against me in Kitzbuhel. Obviously I liked his intensity on court and the way he hit the ball. It was just unreal, I really loved that.

What are your early memories of playing tennis in your home country?
I started playing with my parents, who were both tennis coaches. I really enjoyed playing. When I was a small kid, I always loved to go out and I played soccer, as well.

I just loved to do something with my friends, playing the sport and travelling with some guys from my practice group. We just had a fun time, playing club matches in the youth area, under 12, under 14, like four guys. We are very good friends and we were just enjoying the matches and practice sessions together.

Of course I watched so many Grand Slams on TV, it was unreal. When I was in school, the Australian Open was on TV. They started at 1 in the morning. I was waking up at 5 or 6 with my mom, watching interesting matches.

What do you think will be the most fun part of playing on a team?
I love to be part of a team. It’s an honour to play for my country. I’ve always dreamed about that. When I first listened to the national anthem when I was playing [for Germany] I had goosebumps. I was just tight. Everyone is tight playing for their country for the first time. I had an amazing match. It’s unreal.

We [spend] most of our time on Tour playing for ourselves. We have a team with our coaches and a physio and a fitness coach, and we kind of play for them as well, for our team. But to play with other players is just a great feeling.... The ATP Cup, the new event, I think will be really good.

What makes you excited about it?
It’s something new. It’s a new event and it’s in Australia. Australia is good for tennis. [It is] such a nice time always in December going to Australia and playing the Australian Open.

I think that this event at the beginning of the year will be a great kick-off, start of the year. Playing a team event is just exciting because you don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I think it’s going to be really great.

If you could take one stroke from any one of your countrymen, what would it be?
I would take the backhand of Zverev. It’s so consistent. He plays so well from the baseline and his backhand is outrageous.

What is the best practical joke a compatriot has played on you?
We do some fun things when we’re on a team. In Australia... we went to an escape room together and did some great stuff to make good team-building. We don’t take it too seriously on the team. I think everyone is just sometimes [making] a joke for themselves.

What are three things you love most about your country?
It’s very tough to pick three, not the weather, though. I really like the stability of the rules system in Germany. I enjoy the people a lot. I like to see my family and I like driving fast cars. That’s one of the big things on the Autobahn! That’s one of the good things we have in Germany. I’m very proud of our country and I think we have good rules.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/struff- ... and-a-2019

[Kamileki]

[Damian]