Paris does not currently offer the tennis professionals much variety: the health authorities allow one hour of breathtaking in addition to professional activities, the rascal in the red sand. That might be enough for a café in the brasserie around the corner, everyone has to take care of the evening arrangements. Jan-Lennard Struff likes to watch his colleagues at Roland Garros on TV. The day after his surprise victory over world number seven Andrei Rublev, he wanted to treat himself to a TV series for once, as he said: “Undercover”, espionage stories, “one and a half episodes before going to bed”. Philipp Kohlschreiber also made himself comfortable in the hotel after the opening match against Fernando Verdasco: “It’s nice,” he thought, “that tonight you are not sitting in your hotel room and pondering why you lost.”
A trio from the German Tennis Association has set up in the second round of the French Open, which is endowed with 34 million euros in prize money: Dominik Koepfer, 27 years old, Struff, 31, and Kohlschreiber, 37. Everyone has already earned 84,000 euros; that at least secures the running costs for a while. However, one of them, the youngest, hurried ahead on Wednesday. Alexander Zverev, 24, played his way into the third round in three sets against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin 7: 6 (4), 6: 3, 7: 6 (1).
A job win for Zverev, just another stage on the way to the goal: no reason to change the routine or the television program. Zverev, number six in the world, is again aiming for his first major title in a tournament in the Grand Slam category in Paris. On the stadium microphone, he explained to the spectators, who were sitting far behind in the Suzanne Lenglen court because of the pandemic, that after the unfortunate loss of the US Open final (“two points missing from victory”) he was still driven by ambition.
At Zverev, the relief of not having played another five-set match prevails
The same age Safiullin, whom he has known since childhood and with whom years ago dueled in Paris junior tournaments, was a demanding opponent. The first set alone lasted a full hour and was only decided in the tie-break. In the following two sets, Zverev had to catch up with a break. With an excellent overview, straightforward game and a wealth of variants (including a forearm cuff), Safiullin then shooed the old friend into extra time in round three. Zverev was somewhat “happy that I got through in three sets and didn’t play another five-set match”, that is “important for me with a view to the course of the tournament”. In the duel for a place in the round of 16 he will meet the Serb Laslo Djere on Friday; he also knows that from his youth.
His German colleagues are already challenged on Thursday. Philipp Kohlschreiber competes against Aslan Karatsew, the Russian who caused a sensation at the Australian Open and who was only pushed out of the tournament in Melbourne by world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Kohlschreiber can enter the square convinced that he has asserted himself against all skeptics. Because the first round win against the Spaniard Verdasco (7: 6, 6: 2, 2: 6, 6: 4) was the first match he won on the ATP tour since February 2020. Just a few weeks ago, he was wondering at the tournament in Munich have to let whether he is slowly thinking about the end of his career.
Jan-Lennard Struff’s victory over Rublev, who some considered a tournament favorite, was a career highlight for him: For the first time he has defeated a top ten player: “That means a lot to me,” he said. In Munich, Struff had reached the final on red ashes, on Thursday he will have to compete against Facundo Bagnis from Argentina. “I want to win,” he promised, “I’ll give it my all.”
Finally, Dominik Koepfer faces a duel with the American Taylor Fritz. If he sweeps this out of the tournament, he could face Roger Federer in the third round. It could be one of those matches that Struff likes to watch on television.
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