Professional men's tennis tour. - Struff advances to the last eight in Stuttgart tournament
In the grass court tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Jan-Lennard Struff, a finalist from last year, is continuing his winning streak. He beat Arthur Rinderknech from France with a score of 6:4, 7:6 (7:0), advancing to the quarterfinals. Struff, who is 34 years old and hails from Saarlouis, faces Brandon Nakashima from the United States in the next round.
Commenting on his victory, Struff said, "It was a tough match, but a good one." He's feeling great and excited to play in Germany. "A win in Munich has certainly given me a boost," he added, referring to his first ATP title on clay in Munich in April.
Struff needs just three more wins to clinch the title at the Stuttgart Weissenhof. In a match filled with momentum changes, he held his serve confidently throughout the game and had a commanding lead. Rinderknech struggled to threaten Struff's serve until the score was 5:4. Struff took advantage of a brief weakness in Rinderknech's game to close out the first set, winning it with his fifth set point.
In the second set, Struff played strongly, dominating the tiebreak and converting his first match point after 79 minutes. The Stuttgart tournament, worth 812,235 Euros in prizes, is a preparation ground for Wimbledon (July 1-14). The Karlsruher Yannick Hanfmann and the Swabian Dominik Koepfer were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Alexander Zverev, the French Open finalist, had to drop out due to his loss in the Paris Grand Slam. Zverev will start his grass season next week in Halle, Westphalia.
