Jan-Lennard Struff failed to advance to the semifinals at the ATP tournament in Kitzbühel, continuing his challenging season. The German tennis player fell to France's Arthur Cazaux in straight sets 3:6, 4:6, despite showing slight improvements in form recently.
Struff's last semifinal appearance at an ATP event dates back to July last year in Gstaad. At 35, the Warstein native is fighting to regain his footing on the tour after a series of disappointing results.
"The match just didn't go my way today. Cazaux played solid tennis, and I couldn't find my rhythm when it mattered most," Struff might have reflected after the match.
He wasn't the only German player to face disappointment in Austria. Yannick Hanfmann, 33, also crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 4:6, 6:3, 1:6. Worth noting, Rinderknech is the same player who stunned German top player Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon earlier this season.
For Hanfmann, this defeat is particularly bitter. The Karlsruhe-born player missed a chance to reach his fourth semifinal in Kitzbühel, a tournament where he made it all the way to the final in 2020. He's still chasing his first ATP title.
Both German players are currently battling to climb back into the world's top 100. Struff sits at number 152 in the rankings, while Hanfmann isn't far ahead at 141. Tough break for the German duo, isn't it?
Can either player regain their momentum as the hard court season approaches? Their journey back to prominence just got a bit steeper after these Kitzbühel disappointments.
