A few days ago Jan-Lennard Struff played a kind of lucky fairy at the lawn tennis tournament in Halle.
More for one or the other player, rather less for yourself.
When the German tennis professional was allowed to draw the main draw and everyone was waiting to see who would face the top seeded Russian Daniil Medwedew in the first round, Struff unknowingly picked up number 13. Behind the number, only the Warsteiner knew at the moment, was hiding none other than himself. At first he was annoyed, said the 31-year-old on Tuesday afternoon, when he was already quite satisfied again.
Thomas Klemm
Editor in the "Money & More" section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
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He had beaten Medvedev 7: 6 (8: 6), 6: 3, it was his first victory in the fourth clash.
"I served very well and always stayed at it," said Struff, who made up a 3: 5 deficit in the first round and fended off a set ball.
Medvedev, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals in Paris last week, was increasingly irritated during the 94-minute match.
“I showed him that I was there,” said the German.
Struff's coup against the world number two was not the only success of a German player on German turf. Philipp Kohlschreiber also reached the round of 16 of the 1.45 million euro tournament after beating the Austrian qualifier Jurij Rodionov 6: 4 and 6: 3. His two match wins from Roland Garros would have given him strength and confidence. "The most important thing on the lawn is that you run up with a broad chest," said the 37-year-old from Augsburg, who will now meet the Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
Struff, on the other hand, is next up against American qualifier Marcos Giron this Wednesday. And if everything goes according to his ideas, he will then meet ten-time tournament winner Roger Federer in the quarter-finals. "It would be a dream to be able to play this match." So Struff's self-responsible Lospech would still have its good.