Jan-Lennard Struff Enjoys Incredible Journey to Madrid Open Final
Key Highlights :
Jan-Lennard Struff is relishing his bid for a first ATP title following his "incredible journey" at the Madrid Open which has seen the German become the first lucky loser to reach the final of a Masters 1000 event. After losing to Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifying, Struff was added to the main draw and has since enjoyed a fine run, ousting world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.
Struff admitted that he didn't expect to reach the Madrid Open final, but was grateful for the opportunity to compete as a lucky loser. “No, of course not. I was very happy that I got chosen for Lucky Loser, that I had been drawn two out of three. This is just a crazy story, I would say. I couldn't have imagined this ... It's an incredible journey and story, here in Madrid, and very, very happy. You should not give up and try again always.”
On Sunday, Struff will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Borna Coric 6-4 6-3 on his 20th birthday. The pair have met twice before, with Struff defeating world number two Alcaraz at the French Open in 2021 before the Spaniard got his revenge in a marathon five-setter at Wimbledon the following year.
Struff acknowledged Alcaraz's impressive development over the last two years, saying, “We played in Roland Garros when he was 18. For a young player like him, he changed so much in this time. When we see what he achieved in this last two years, it's just amazing. He's a complete player. He has a lot of weapons. He's serve and volleying, playing strong from the baseline, serving well, he has a dropshot. He's very fast. He's a great athlete ... Really, really happy to be in the finals, and really looking forward to this match.”
The German's run to the Madrid Open final is part of a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Struff, who dropped outside the top 100 last year, but is back up to 65th after reaching the quarter-finals of last month's Monte Carlo Masters.
“Last year was a rough year for me. I didn't play well beginning of the year," Struff said. "Injured my foot, fractured my toe, right big toe, and was about to start practicing again and had some other problems in the foot which kept me from playing on clay where I had a lot of points. I felt like I didn't play the best tennis I could, and was struggling a bit definitely, but I didn't stop working. I did a lot of fitness. I did a lot of practice still. I was focused, committed.”
Jan-Lennard Struff's incredible journey to the Madrid Open final is a testament to his hard work and resilience. After a difficult year in 2020, Struff is now on the brink of achieving his first ATP title and is looking forward to the challenge of facing defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
