Jan-Lennard Struff Makes Late Career Surge into US Open 4th round

Facing big Foe, Frances Tiafoe, Struff was the one unbothered by the pressure of New York. Tiafoe, who loves playing in New York, lost a streak of three consecutive runs to the second week of the tournament, and lost in the third round, while defending his semifinal runs in 2022 and 2024. The American crowd loves Tiafoe, but in a match where he played poorly, they gained respect and admiration for Struff as he won 6-4 6-3 7-6. Struff won the third set despite a game where he served up three consecutive double faults when serving for the match.

A Career of Grinding to Reach This Stage

Struff has never been a flashy player, and his game doesn’t create a lot of highlight reels. Rather he’s dedicated himself to maintaining his fitness and poise to still be competitive at this point in his career. It speaks to his lack of notoriety on tour, that his match against Tiafoe was not on one of the two main courts in New York. In what was still a hostile environment, Struff looked far better than his higher ranked opponents in both the second and third round of the tournament. It wasn’t until the end of the third set, that Struff faced a break point, with his baseline power a threat to opponents.

Interviewed post-match , Struff was recognized as a proud father of a five year old son, encouraged by his family, Struff’s steady baseline game, focused on holding serve and counter punching to exploit what his opponent is offering, will last for at least one match more in New York. The German, who reached Wimbledon’s third round for the 4th time earlier this season, and twice has made the second week at Roland Garros, will now play the most memorable match of his life at the US Open, against most likely, Novak Djokovic, another ageless warrior. Struff has had modest success over top 10 players in his career, but he’s never won a match like he would have to reach the quarterfinals in New York.