Jan-Lennard Struff

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

Struff Beats Medvedev In Halle Opener

Spoiler:

Harris, Nishikori through to second round
Jan-Lennard Struff knocked out World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev for one of the biggest wins of his career on Tuesday at the NOVENTI OPEN.

Making his eighth appearance at the ATP 500 tournament in Halle, Struff recovered from 2-5 down in the first set en route to a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory against the top-seeded Russian, who reached last week’s Roland Garros quarter-finals (l. to Tsitsipas).

“This is the biggest win — [FedEx ATP] Rankings wise — of my career and to do it here on home soil is very special,” said Struff. “I live only an hour from here.

“He served for the [first] set at 6-5 and twice went for an ace on a second serve and I put returns in at 30/30 and 30/40. I then played a very good tie-break and at 5-1 up in the second set, I thought about being up 5-1 last week against Diego Schwartzman [in the Roland Garros fourth round]. I lost the set in the tie-break, after having seven set points, so it was definitely in my head. It’s not something you can get out of your head easily.”

How To Watch

The 31-year-old German saved one set point at 5-6, 30/40 in the first set and closed out the tie-break with a forehand volley winner. Struff then won five of the first six games in the second set, and although he was broken at 5-1, having missed a match point with a volley error, the World No. 45 closed out in his next service game.

Struff, who beat Medvedev’s compatriot Andrey Rublev on Parisian clay two weeks ago, struck 31 winners in the 10th Top 10 win of his career (10-26 lifetime) over one hour and 34 minutes. The BMW Open runner-up will now play American qualifier Marcos Giron in the second round.

“Last time in Cincinnati [at the 2019 Western & Southern Open], Medvedev killed me 6-2, 6-1, it was really tough,” said Struff. "I didn’t know how to play him. It is better to play him on grass rather than hard courts. I have a good game for grass and I like to come in. The wins at Roland Garros definitely gave me a confidence boost.”

Medvedev, who was making his first appearance in Halle, had won all three of their ATP Head2Head meetings. This year’s Open 13 Provence titlist (d. Herbert) and Australian Open finalist (l. to Djokovic) drops to a 22-7 record on the season, which also includes helping Russia to the ATP Cup crown.

Elsewhere, Halle debutant Lloyd Harris broke serve once in each set to overcome eighth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 in 68 minutes. The South African, who reached the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final (l. to Karatsev) in March, won 29 of 33 first-service points and goes on challenge Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the 2014-15 semi-finalist, worked hard for his 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win over Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania in one hour and 41 minutes. Nishikori now meets #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda, the Emilia-Romagna Open champion (d. Cecchinato) prior to Roland Garros.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/struff- ... 21-tuesday

[Damian]

Berrettini Edges Past Travaglia In All-Italian London Opener

Spoiler:

World No. 9 awaits winner of Murray and Paire
Top seed Matteo Berrettini had to rally from a break down in both sets of his 7-6(5), 7-6(4) victory over Stefano Travaglia on Tuesday to seal a spot in the second round of cinch Championships at The Queen's Club.

In his tournament debut, Berrettini improved to 22-6 on the season after claiming his first victory of the grass-court season. The Italian has tasted success on this surface before, with one of his four tour-level titles coming on the lawns of Stuttgart in 2019 (d. Auger-Aliassime).

You May Also Like: Scouting Report: Federer, Top 10 Stars Out In Force In Halle & London
“It’s always a fight [against Stefano]. We know each other pretty well,” Berrettini said in an on-court interview. “We’ve played twice on the ATP Tour, but we’ve played so many more times in Futures, so I’ve known this guy for a long time. He’s always a great opponent, so well done to him. But I’m happy for my win.

“It really helps me to have so many [Italian] guys [in the Top 100] because you find new energy, and our quality is really high. We practise with each other all the time… It’s really helpful.”

The No.9-ranked Italian was sidelined for much of the early part of the 2021 season due to an abdominal injury, but he bounced back in style during the clay-court swing. Berrettini lifted a trophy at the Serbia Open and reached the final at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Zverev).


He needed a few games to adjust to the new surface after falling behind a break to countryman Travaglia, No. 88 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, on Tuesday. Berrettini trailed by 0-3 in the first set as Travaglia struck short and compact shots on the slick grass, before the top seed found his feet. He again fell behind by 0-2 in the second set, but he recovered quickly to level the score before Travaglia ran away with it.

Berrettini edged through in both tie-breaks, securing the win to improve to 2-0 in the ATP Head2Head against his countryman. All four sets they have played have gone to tie-breaks, and all four have been won by Berrettini.

How To Watch

Berrettini’s strong serving kept him from getting into too much trouble on Center Court. He won 81 per cent (44/54) of points behind his booming first serve, fired 14 aces, and saved four of the six break points he faced across one hour and 54 minutes.

He will want to keep improving those figures as he looks ahead to a potential second-round meeting against five-time Queen’s Club champion Andy Murray. The Brit, who took a wild card into his first tour-level singles event since March, takes on Benoit Paire later in the day.

“I’m really looking forward to playing my next match with a crowd,” Berrettini said, before adding with a smile, “I would rather have [a crowd cheering] against me than nobody.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/berrett ... 21-tuesday

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

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[Damian]

[Kamileki]

Home-Favourite Struff: Jan-Lennard Struff will lead the German charge on home soil. The World No. 45 equalled his best Grand Slam performance last month as he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros. He will begin against Laslo Djere and is joined in the draw by three other countrymen, including Philipp Kohlschreiber.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/hamburg ... ing-report

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Lucas]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]