Victory as “Lucky Loser”
Struff continues furious tennis fairy tale
05/04/2023, 11:08 p.m
Jan-Lennard Struff reaches the semi-finals of a Masters tournament for the first time. The 33-year-old wins in Madrid against world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas after a tennis thriller. Struff was actually eliminated from the tournament in the qualification, but later slipped into the main draw.
The unlikely triumph of “Lucky Loser” Jan-Lennard Struff in Madrid continues – and at the age of 33 leads him to the semifinals of a Masters tournament for the first time. The Warsteiner, who had actually already failed in the qualification, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, fifth in the world rankings, 7:6 (7:5), 5:7, 6:3 in the quarterfinals. In a semi-final of the underdogs, Struff has to deal with the Russian qualifier Aslan Karazew again. “I wouldn’t have thought it a week ago when he took me out – crazy world sometimes,” said Struff on Sky. “Maybe a bit of luck was also on my side. I got a chance and I took it. It’s an incredible week.”
Struff played with confidence against the two-time Grand Slam finalist from Greece, he didn’t let his opponent’s three breakballs and a 1: 4 in the tie-break disturb him in the first set. With his courageous, variable game, the veteran kept the second set open for a long time. And he didn’t collapse in the decision-making process either – on the contrary: Struff got the Greek’s serve for the first time in the match to make it 3-1 and converted his second match ball after 2:30 hours.
On Wednesday, Daniel Altmaier, who also surprisingly reached the top eight in the Caja Magica, was eliminated. On Tuesday, Germany’s number one Alexander Zverev had no chance against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a repeat of last year’s final with 1: 6, 2: 6.
Struff, who was number 29 in the world almost three years ago, had to wait a long time for such a sense of achievement. The return to the top of the world was difficult. In March 2022 he broke his toe in Miami, the Warsteiner missed the entire clay court season and slipped far down the world rankings. Now he’s already assured of a return to the top 40.