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Jan-Lennard Struff in Stuttgart
Photo: ANGELIKA WARMUTH / REUTERS
Tennis pro Jan-Lennard Struff also lost his third final on the ATP tour. The 33-year-old Warsteiner had to admit defeat in the final of the grass tournament in Stuttgart, which is endowed with almost 800,000 euros, to the favored American Frances Tiafoe 6: 4, 6: 7 (1: 7), 6: 7 (8: 10).
Struff will still be number 21 in the new world rankings on Monday, the German number one ahead of the Hamburg French Open semi-finalist Alexander Zverev (22nd). If he had beat Tiafoe, he would have made it into the top 19 for the first time in 20th place. For his part, the US professional is listed in the top 10 for the first time in tenth place.
Struff had no chance in the tie-break
"It was a wonderful week for me, it was an unbelievable atmosphere," said Struff after the game: "It meant a lot to me, even if it's a heartbreaker to lose this match."
Before the duel with number three seeded Tiafoe, a semi-finalist at the US Open last year, Struff had also lost the finals at the clay court competitions in Munich in 2021 and at the Masters in Madrid this year. In Spain's capital, he was only defeated by the high favorite and local hero Carlos Alcaraz after a great fight.
In the match against Tiafoe, against whom he had previously had a balanced record (1:1), Struff remained nerve-racking. Although his serve wobbled in the first set (five double faults), Struff made up for the lack of precision with a great fight. In the second round, Struff continued to act courageously, but the service games became hanging games. In the tie-break, his opponent turned up, Struff had no chance.
In the decisive set, both players showed nerves in front of three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, but each held their serve. The approximately 5,000 spectators now celebrated every successful action for Struff, the decision again brought the tiebreak. There, Struff missed a match point, Tiafoe converted his third.
ARA/SID