Tennis News

The Last Time… Jan-Lennard Struff

In the latest installment of our popular series, World No. 36 Jan-Lennard Struff reveals the last time…

I missed a flight?
It was a long time ago when I played one of my first Challengers on hard courts. I’m not sure when it was, [maybe] 2010 or 2011. I took the wrong train at an Italian Challenger somewhere close to Milan. In Germany, when you are on a train, you just have the name of the destination. There, it was where it started… In the end, I messed up and missed the flight.

I lost something important?
I had this necklace. I got it from some friends of Ben McLachlan when we were playing doubles. It was a green stone from New Zealand and I really liked that. I was on a plane going back from the US Open last year and when I had my little boy on my arm, he was trying to take the necklace and rip it off. I took it off, put it on a seat and when we left the plane I left it. It was so tough, because I liked that one a lot.

I strung a tennis racquet?
Maybe 10 to 15 years ago, when I tried to find out how to string a tennis racquet. My father had a machine back at his tennis facility and I used to string some racquets of mine. It took me like 35 minutes… I don’t know if I could make it now. I think I could make it, but I need to work on that.

I asked someone famous for an autograph or selfie?
I was on my way back from Australia three or four years ago and I was on the same flight as Borussia Dortmund, my favourite team. They were just with Thomas Tuchel in Dubai on winter break training. They were on the same flight, so I asked some players for a picture. [I asked] Marco Reus and a few other players on the plane.

I went to a music concert?
A long time ago, I never attended too many. It was a really long time ago when I played the German team matches five or six years ago. We won the German championship and the same day there was a concert. We used to play in Halle where the tournament is… inside there was a James Blunt concert on the same evening. The whole team just went there. We had a great night and a party after at a club.

I watched a new TV series?
I was [recently] watching Mindhunter on Netflix. Before [that] I was watching 24 and I am just looking for something now. The bubble life is tough. I am reading sometimes and just trying to find new movies.

I attended another sports event live?
It was the match before the lockdown came in March. Borussia Dortmund [played] against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League. It was between Rotterdam and Dubai and after that, they shut down pretty soon. I like to go to Dortmund matches. I live 50 minutes from the stadium, so it is easy.

I made my debut at an ATP Tour event?
It was Cologne [this year]. It was very nice there for this new tournament. Before that, it was Adelaide, [another] new event. ATP Cup was a new event, too.

I met a childhood idol?
[This year] at breakfast [with] Rafa. We talked about Borussia Dortmund just for two minutes.

I shared a hotel room with another player?
That is a really long time ago… I shared a room with Dustin Brown in 2015 in Casablanca. We shared a room and my coach took my room to have less expenses.

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2020 Nitto ATP Finals Caps Off Successful 12-Year Stay In London

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, played for the final year at The O2 in London, has marked the end of a remarkable 12-year run in the English capital for the prestigious season-finale of the ATP Tour.

Played on the 50th anniversary of its inaugural edition in Tokyo in 1970, this year’s tournament once again provided a thrilling close to the season, with the top four singles seeds reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1990. In the final, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev defeated Austria’s Dominic Thiem 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 to claim the biggest title of his career. In doubles action, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic triumphed over Jürgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2, 3-6, 10-5, to capture their first title as a team.

Medvedev’s victory bookends the tournament’s time in London with Russian champions, following compatriot Nikolay Davydenko’s triumph in 2009. It also marks the first time in tournament history that any player has defeated the top three players in the FedEx ATP Rankings, with victories over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in addition to World No. 3 Thiem.

Since moving to London the event has welcomed more than 2.8 million spectators and generated a cumulative global broadcast audience of over 850 million. The tournament’s status as the crown-jewel of the ATP Tour season has been further underscored by long-term commercial support of globally renowned brands.

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, played behind closed doors, delivered unprecedented levels of fan engagement through digital and social media, generating 131 million video views and 9.6 million interactions across ATP Tour and Tennis TV social media accounts. #NittoATPFinals content, including bespoke 50th anniversary programming and behind-the-scenes content, generated additional earned engagement via interaction by influencers and popular digital channels, including Cristiano Ronaldo, 433 and Visubal. In addition, ATP and ATP Media provided premium content to support a daily show by Gael Monfils on Twitch, which featured guest host Andy Murray and reached over one million unique viewers.

This year’s event also capped off a challenging ATP Tour season, which was suspended for five months in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since restarting in August, a total of 16 ATP Tour and Grand Slam events were staged, bringing the prize money total for the season to US$120.8m.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “Bringing tennis back to our fans this season has been a huge collaborative effort. Witnessing the professionalism and dedication of the world’s best players competing their hearts out last week at the Nitto ATP Finals, in an empty stadium, is something I will never forget. The players deserve all the credit. We wish fans could have been with us to celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary, however the ATP will always remember the 2.8 million passionate spectators that came through the gates of The O2 over the years. London has been an incredible host, and I would like to thank AEG and all our event partners, in particular Nitto, without whose support this event would not have been possible.”

Alex Hill, President & CEO of AEG Europe commented, “I’m enormously proud of everything AEG and The O2 have achieved over the past 12 years with the ATP on our partnership for the Nitto ATP Finals, and wish them and the city of Turin all the best as the event moves to Italy. Hosting this prestigious event has cemented The O2’s position as a major international sporting arena and we look forward to a busy calendar of new and returning sports events over the coming years.”

From 2021-2025, the Nitto ATP Finals will relocate to its new home in Turin, Italy, with the continued commitment of title sponsor Nitto.

BY THE NUMBERS:
2020 NITTO ATP FINALS

• 131,000,000 – video views on ATP Tour and Tennis TV social media channels (+88% YoY)

• 9,500,000 – earned video views (+229% YoY) of Nitto ATP Finals content, including interaction and resharing by Cristiano Ronaldo, 433 and Visubal

• 1,910,138 – streams watched on Tennis TV during the 2020 tournament (+21% YoY)

• 1,200,000 – total streams of Gael Monfils’ daily show on Twitch across the event

• 8,000 – masks donated by Nitto for the event to protect players and their entourages, officials, drivers, security personnel and staff

• 2,353 – COVID-19 PCR tests administered throughout the event

NITTO ATP FINALS IN LONDON (2009-2020):

• 850,000,000+ – cumulative global broadcast audience, across more than 175 territories

• 78,840,000 – total prize money ($US) paid to players

• 2,803,964 – cumulative on-site attendance at The O2

• 2,000,000+ – amount of money raised ($US) for charity, in aid of the likes of Cancer Research UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Save the Children and UNICEF 

• 50,336 – total points played (singles & doubles)

• 34,297 – total minutes played (singles & doubles), equivalent to 24 days of action

• 163 – minutes played in the longest singles final (Medvedev d. Thiem, 2020)

• 101 – total participants across singles and doubles competitions

• 36 – nationalities represented by event participants

• 21 – age of the youngest singles champion in London (Tsitsipas, 2019)

• 4 – Year-End Singles No.1s crowned (Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Nadal)

• 1 – thing left to say: Thank you for your support!

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