tennis
Struff sick – No chance of winning the title in Stuttgart
Jan-Lennard Struff cannot play his quarter-final match in Stuttgart. Photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
Jan-Lennard Struff played strongly in the first few days in Stuttgart, just like last year. But the German tennis pro was slowed down before the quarterfinals.
Struff was the only remaining German participant in the event at the Weissenhof, which had prize money of 812,235 euros. He had won the first two rounds in two sets.
Last year, Struff shone in Stuttgart. At the end of a strong week, he narrowly missed out on winning the title in the final against US professional Frances Tiafoe after missing a match point.
Next setback for the Stuttgart tournament
“It is a great pity that Jan-Lennard Struff cannot continue the tournament due to illness. We wish him a speedy recovery and much success for the rest of the season,” said tournament director Edwin Weindorfer. After Struff’s withdrawal, Nakashima is in the semifinals without a fight.
The event had already suffered a setback with the cancellation of top German player Alexander Zverev. The world number four did not feel physically ready for the tournament so soon after losing the French Open final. In addition, the Pole Hubert Hurkacz and the American Taylor Fritz had withdrawn at short notice as other top 20 players.
It was initially unclear what the illness meant for Struff’s future tournament planning. The world number 35 had actually planned to play in Halle, Westphalia, next week and continue his preparation for Wimbledon there. The Grand Slam tournament on grass begins on July 1.