Grass Court Classic Witnesses Unanticipated Victory by Struff
Tennis Star Jan-Lennard Struff Secures Quarterfinals Spot at Halle Tournament: The 34-year-old German athlete pulls off a shock victory against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, securing a face-off with Italy's Jannik Sinner, currently ranked number one worldwide.
Struff shook things up at the Grass Court Tournament in Halle, Germany. In a nail-biting match, the 34-year-old from Warstein ousted Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with scores of 6:4, 6:4. The victorious Struff now squares off against Sinner in the quarterfinals, with the Italian dominating the rankings. Sinner advanced earlier by defeating Hungarian Fabian Marozsan with scores of 6:4, 6:7 (4:7), 6:3.
Fans in Halle can expect two quarterfinals featuring German players on Friday. In the second match of the day, Alexander Zverev goes head-to-head with France's Arthur Fils. Later in the day, Sinner and Struff will serve it out. Zverev moved forward by defeating Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets on Wednesday. "This win is totally epic for me. Halle is my hometown, advancing to the quarterfinals is beyond awesome," Struff exclaimed. He's especially hyped for the clash against Sinner. "I've played him twice, once on hard court and once on clay. I can't wait for our match on the grass."
From the get-go, Struff showcased his powerful play against Tsitsipas. The Davis Cup representative earned an early break to lead 3:2, and claimed the first set with the crowd's heartfelt support. Struff maintained his focus in the second set and committed minimal errors. The Warsteiner's confident gameplay was clear, showing no signs of the stomach-intestinal infection that sidelined him at the Stuttgart Boss Open last week. He only restarted training at the beginning of the week.
Sinner struggled more than anticipated against Marozsan. Due to some lapses in focus, Sinner surprisingly dropped the second set, but managed to regroup and prevent an unwelcome exit. Hubert Hurkacz also advanced to the quarterfinals. The Pole, who won the German Grass-Court Classic in 2022, defeated Australia's James Duckworth with scores of 7:6 (7:3), 6:4. Hurkacz will take on American Marcos Giron in the quarterfinals on Friday (12:00). Giron sent Italian Matteo Berrettini packing.
