On Thursday, the German defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, the sixth seed, 6-4, 6-4, securing a quarterfinal matchup with Jannik Sinner, the top-seeded player in the PIF ATP Rankings. According to Infosys ATP Stats, the 34-year-old fell just five points short of his first serve and needed 67 minutes to progress by forcing mistakes from Tsitsipas’ backhand.
It’s quite unique. Struff, who never reached a breaking point, remarked, “The audience was backing me like crazy and it was simply a fantastic sensation, amazing environment.” “To have finally taken this step means a lot.”
Struff outscored the Greek and exacted revenge on him one day after salvaging a match point to overcome Luiz Darderi by hitting 22 winners to only five unintentional mistakes. Rome’s defeat by Tsitsipas. At 4-4, their Lexus ATP Head2Head series is now deadlocked. With both encounters occurring this season (Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo), Struff is 0-2 versus Sinner.
“I was ecstatic. That was a hard contest yesterday. I felt well this morning after being unwell earlier,” Struff remarked. “I came in extremely well and made a solid connection with the ball right immediately. I was playing with an aggressive approach and served fairly well. Extremely happy with my performance.
For the first time in his 11 grass ATP 500 outings, Struff has advanced to the final eight. The World No. 34 became the third-oldest (33) first-time ATP Tour titlist since the tournament’s founding this year when he won his first tour-level title in Munich.
Tsitsipas holds a 29-11 season record, with his best result being a title run in Monte-Carlo. The 25-year-old was aiming for his first grass quarter-final since winning the ATP 250 in Mallorca two years ago.
Marcos Giron became the first player outside the Top 50 to beat the Italian on grass since No. 53 Gilles Simon at the 2018 Wimbledon after defeating Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 earlier in Halle.
Giron praised Berrettini, who is currently 41-10 on grass, saying, “He is fantastic; with every event he plays on grass, he virtually makes the final or wins it.” “I knew it would be difficult and that I needed to focus on my serve in the hopes of getting a chance. I stayed completely focused and with great intensity.
