Struff Survives Krajinovic Thriller In Munich
Jan-Lennard Struff needed three hours and a final-set tie-break to reach his second BMW Open semi-final on Friday.
The seventh seed recovered from a break down on two occasions in the decider and closed the net well in the final-set tie-break to defeat Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3) on Centre Court. Struff is through to his second semi-final in Munich, seven years after reaching the same stage in 2014 (l. to Fognini).
[WATCH LIVE 1]“It was a very, very hard match,” Struff said in his on-court interview. “I expected a very tough match and a hard fight… In the end, I am very happy that I could reach my second semi-final in Munich.”
With his first ATP Head2Head victory against Krajinovic (tied at 1-1), Struff improved to 11-6 at the ATP 250. Struff is attempting to reach his maiden ATP Tour championship match this week.
The 31-year-old will face Ilya Ivashka for a spot in the championship match. The Belarusian recovered from a set and a break down to eliminate top seed and two-time champion Alexander Zverev 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3. Struff won his only previous ATP Head2Head encounter against Ivashka last year.
Due to rain, the two remaining quarter-finals will be completed on Saturday. Casper Ruud was leading John Millman 6-3 and Nikoloz Basilashvili held a 5-4 advantage against Norbert Gombos when rain cancelled play for the day.