The game started as expected. Carlos Alcaraz immediately took the first service game from Jan-Lennard Struff. The Spaniard, who has just turned 20 and the favorite as second in the world rankings, led 2-0. But then he appeared, this new, transformed struff. The German, significantly older at 33 and still without a singles title after 14 years as a professional, hammered the first winning strokes into the field. He attacked, in his case: he kept appearing at the net, 51 times he should do so in the entire match. He shed all fear. Alcaraz quarreled, hesitated, spread mistakes over the network. Acted impressed by this constant attacker, privately a very quiet man from Warstein. And so a match developed on Sunday evening in Madrid that was to be a tight, gripping one.
At 9:07 p.m., after 2:26 hours of play, Alcaraz had three match balls. He converted the first at 40-0 and won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Struff was about to crown a spectacular week with the most significant triumph of his career. He congratulated politely at the net, as is his way. In any case, he experienced a week that he will remember for a long time. And others, who have not been following him so far, also took notice. struffi many call him, which sounds a bit like Schluffi. And he’s also a bit muddy on the road, sometimes. But these days you have to say: He is now playing tennis like someone whose name is Struff and not Struffi.
“It’s wonderful. I didn’t imagine anything like that before,” Struff said after his semi-final victory on Friday against the Russian Aslan Karazew. It was now his second final in singles; In 2021 he lost to Georgian Nikolos Bassilashvili in Munich. That was at a tournament in the 250 category, that’s when the ATP tour is just starting. Madrid is part of the Masters series, there are nine events each season and they have been held since 1990. They are the most important events after the four Grand Slam tournaments. This final in Madrid therefore had a different dimension than the one in Munich.
Struff’s story is not only so good because he has now achieved the greatest success of his career. The way there was also highly unusual and even includes a record. A lucky loser had never reached a final at a Masters. This is what players are called who fail in the last round of the qualifying tournament, but then move into the field of participants in the main tournament because a place suddenly became vacant. For example, because someone got injured.
“He used to make himself small from time to time,” says Struff’s manager
Struff had already had to compete against Karazew in the last round. 4: 6, 2: 6, so clearly he had been swept off the field. But something happened to Struff this year, not even so much with his technique, his shots. His manager Corrado Tschabuschnig from Italy, who speaks fluent German, explained this clearly in an interview with Sky: “He finally knows that he is powerful,” he said. “That he’s big on the pitch, that he’s strong. He’s feeling that more and more now. He used to make himself small from time to time, although he always had the shots. But now you realize you can’t get past him . He’s so huge on the pitch.”
However, Struff’s tennis doesn’t look relaxed at the moment, and it certainly isn’t for his opponents. With his longtime coach Carsten Arriens, who was once Davis Cup team boss, he has worked a lot on his self-confidence, which at times has not been as strong as his game can be. But with the former professional Marvin Netuschil from Hamm, who joined Arriens and Struff and was there as a coach in Madrid, Struff has once again gained a new charisma.
Before or after rallies, he is reminiscent of ski racers who stand in the starting house on the Streif in Kitzbühel and encourage themselves vigorously. Struff keeps raising his fist, a signal to himself. I’m here. I’m ready. He almost plays point for point. And what’s new is that the quiet Arriens isn’t sitting out there in the box right now. Netuschil is of a completely different nature. He makes an almost battle-hungry face and often yells something at Struff. He looks like a panther on the lookout. In tennis, short coaching from the outside is now allowed. Struff himself often uses the word “energy”. He needs that. Netuschil also conveys them to him.
In the quarterfinals he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas
Struff attacks whenever he can and sees a chance. He hardly gives the opponents time to breathe. He’s close to the baseline and because he’s 1.93m tall with long arms and moving really well these days he really covers the whole court well. His serve is awesome. And he’s sturdy. He has now won five matches in a row, each in the third set. In Madrid he defeated, among other things, the highly traded young American Ben Shelton, the solid strategist Dusan Lajovic from Serbia, and in the quarterfinals he achieved his museum victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek was in a Grand Slam final again last January, in Melbourne, and has been one of the world’s best professionals for many years.
And Alcaraz also repeatedly attacked Struff with this risk-taking tennis.
Often on the defensive in the final: Carlos Alcaraz.
(Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP)
Struff’s new confidence had already been felt at the Australian Open. After qualifying, he met the strong American Tommy Paul. Fear? “Oh, what. I have to cut it off,” he said at the time of the SZ. He was ready to take the fight, that’s what was meant. He then lost in three sets. But it’s that attitude that has now propelled him into his biggest final yet in Madrid. In the Davis Cup, Struff, extremely popular with all colleagues, has been the savior several times and twice saved the German team from relegation. Now success is his success alone.
Struff’s chances for the final were classified as low in advance. Alcaraz, who won the US Open, is currently the measure. Especially since Rafael Nadal (also canceled for the tournament in Rome) and Novak Djokovic (tired) were absent in Madrid. But Struff believed in himself, “I could beat him before,” he said to himself. That was actually the case in 2021, at the French Open. Only a few points made the difference this time (99:96 for Alcaraz).
Struff became the seventh German man to reach a Masters final. Boris Becker (22 times), Alexander Zverev (10), Michael Stich (3), Tommy Haas (2), Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler (1 each) had previously done this. Struff has improved to 28th place in the world rankings, he has never been that high. Now he is also breathing down the neck of Alexander Zverev (22nd).