Holger Rune, Denmark’s top tennis player and the 11th seed at the US Open, ended his participation in the second round of the last Grand Slam tournament of the season. He was defeated by Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) by 3-2 (7:6(5), 2:6, 6:3, 4:6, 7:5) after three hours and 28 minutes of play.
The two played their match on court number 17 in the complex, which is located near Corona Park, where fans often smoke marijuana, so the smell is felt on all courts, but on this one – especially strongly. Two years ago, Alexander Zverev, after his match at the US Open, played on court 17, said that he felt “like he was in Snoop Dogg’s living room the whole time”. This specific atmosphere, however, did not prevent Jan-Lennard Struff from delivering a surprise.
“The atmosphere was crazy! I enjoyed it. It was a brutal fight”, said Jan-Lennard Struff.
Against the 11th-seeded the German was considered an underdog. Holger Rune, however, found no solution to his fighting spirit. The irrepressible desire to win brought Jan-Lennard Struff a triumph in the tiebreak of the first set. After that, both players put up a fierce resistance. Jan-Lennard Struff had no chance in the second set, then Holger Rune was better by one break in the third, allowing the tall German to get back into the match. The fifth set was a real thriller with a happy ending for Jan-Lennard Struff, who made the decisive break at 6:5.
This success is even more significant, since the fourth racket of Germany had to go through the qualifiers for the first time in a long time. The match against Holger Rune was already his fifth in New York. Now he reaches the third round for the third time, having done so in 2018 and 2020. At the same time, he also became the oldest German in history to defeat a top 20 player in a Grand Slam tournament. We remind you that Jan-Lennard Struff is 35 years old.
“You mean I’m old!?”, said the 144th ranked tennis player in the world with a laugh, then added more seriously: “I’m proud that at 35 I’m playing this kind of tennis. I hope to continue in the same way”. In the third round, Jan-Lennard Struff will face American Frances Tiafoe.
