Struff, Draper Set Semi-Final Clash In Sofia

Jan-Lennard Struff and Jack Draper set a hard-hitting late-season clash on Thursday at the Sofia Open, where the pair notched contrasting quarter-final victories at the indoor ATP 250.

The third-seeded Struff overcame Fabian Marozsan 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in a one-hour, 58-minute battle in Bulgaria to reach his first hard-court ATP Tour semi-final since 2021. The 33-year-old German, who is now 20-16 for the season, rallied from 0-2 in the deciding set to prevail in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Marozsan.

“I think it was a great match of very high intensity and a good level,” said Struff. “I felt like [we both] played a very good first set. In the second I gave away one break with a double fault, which I think was unexpected. But in the third he was a break up and I managed to stay in, fight for every point and [be aggressive] on return.”

Bend it like Struff 🥶

Lovely whip from @Struffitennis! @sofiaopentennis | #SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/EoXVpmnuoC

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 9, 2023

Struff’s next test in Sofia is a semi-final meeting with Draper, who eased past wild card Cem Ilkel 6-2, 6-2 to back up his second-round win against top seed Lorenzo Musetti. The 21-year-old Briton converted four of nine break points he earned to book his third appearance in an ATP Tour semi-final after Eastbourne in 2022 (I. to Cressy) and Adelaide-2 in 2023 (I. to Kwon).

“I think he is a really solid player,” said Draper of Turkey’s Ilkel after the match. “It was difficult in the rallies but I thought I was really strong and my ball speed was very good. I was able to turn defence into attack really well today, so I’m happy with the way I played.”

Friday’s semi-final meeting between Struff and Draper will be the first in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. It will also be a collision between two of the cleanest ballstrikers on Tour.

“He’s someone who has had an amazing season and won a lot of matches,” said Draper of Struff. “He plays a really big game, so it will be two big hitters playing and hopefully it will be a good match.”