Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who stormed into the final in Madrid as a lucky loser, moved to within one win of capturing his first tour-level title on Saturday when he defeated fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Stuttgart Open here.
He set up a summit clash with American Frances Taifoe who defeated Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovicsm in the other semifinal.
Competing on home soil at the ATP 250 grass-court event, Struff produced an aggressive brand of tennis, that has seen him advance thus far, to overpower Hurkacz. The 33-year-old clubbed 35 winners and was sharp when moving forward, winning 85 per cent (17/20) of net points to advance after one hour and 29 minutes.
The 33-year-old Struff is enjoying a red-hot season, having advanced to the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo and the final in Madrid as a lucky loser. The German has transformed his clay-court form onto the German lawns this week, dropping just one set en route to his third tour-level final.
Arriving in Stuttgart at a career-high No. 24, Struff is now up three spots to No. 21 in the ATP Live Rankings following his run. He will crack the Top 20 on Monday if he beats Frances Tiafoe in the title match.
Earlier, Tiafoe advanced to his seventh tour-level final and first on grass when he battled past Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(11).
The American, who did not face a break point in the match, saved six set points in an epic second-set tie-break to book his spot in the championship match after one hour and 37 minutes.
“I have played some solid tennis. It is one of my favourite surfaces. It is good to get out here and get some matches,” Tiafoe was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour on its website.
The third seed Tiafoe is chasing his third tour-level title and second of the season this week, having triumphed on clay in Houston in April.
Tiafoe is making his debut in Stuttgart, with his best result on grass b this week before running to the quarterfinals at The Queen’s Club in 2018 and 2021. The 25-year-old is up one place to No. 11 in the ATP Live Rankings and will break the Top 10 for the first time if he wins the trophy in Germany.
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