Ein brisk Jan-Lennard Struff, top star Novak Djokovic could not stop at the Olympic Games – the number one in the world is still chasing the next milestone in tennis history. In his second round match in Tokyo, Struff from the Sauerland had to admit defeat 4: 6, 3: 6 on Monday. The German number two failed to follow the medal candidate Alexander Zverev, who continued to win sovereignly, into the second round.
There is another German player there: Dominik Koepfer also reached the round of the last sixteen. The 27-year-old won his second round game 6: 3, 6: 0 against the Australian Max Purcell.
Djokovic, on the other hand, was too strong for Struff. The Serbian Wimbledon winner can write more tennis history in 2021 and is the only athlete besides Steffi Graf to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold in one year in 1988. There are no triumphs in Tokyo and at the US Open.
Lots of breaks in sentence two
It had been clear beforehand that it would be extremely tricky for Struff. The 48th in the world rankings tried to play aggressively, just as the German number one Zverev had advised his double and flat-share partner in a conversation about what is currently the greatest possible challenge in men’s tennis. The outsider from Warstein kept the game open until 4: 5. Then the first serve was equivalent to the first loss of a set.
Djokovic dominates the tennis scene this season – and how: The 34-year-old won the next Australian Open title, he triumphed at the French Open, he followed up at Wimbledon. And unlike his rivals Rafael Nadal from Spain and Roger Federer from Switzerland in Japan. Even with numerous aces he annoyed Struff on this not so extremely hot Olympic day. In the second set, breaks alternated at first, then Djokovic took off with a decisive 4-1.
“Novak is number one in the world for a reason,” said Zverev after his sovereign mandatory victory and announced that he would keep his fingers crossed for his teammate. However, the hope that the top star would have a bad day was not fulfilled.
For the top German player, a semi-final hit with Djokovic would be possible, but both have to win twice. With the 6: 2, 6: 2 against Daniel Elahi Galan in the second round, Zverev came a little closer to his wish for a medal. Against the Colombian world rankings-113. Zverev clearly dominated the game, especially when serving. “That was a relatively positive match for me today. I’m happy that I’m through, ”said the fifth in the world rankings.
Zverev robbed the Colombian outsider of the hopes with breaks early on and gave him no chance if he increased the pace in the punches. “In these conditions you have to play aggressively,” he said: “That worked out relatively well today.”
Disappoint ladies
In the round of 16 against the unset Georgian Nikolos Bassilashvili a difficult, but in any case also feasible test awaits. Zverev competes as a medal co-favorite and reaffirmed his own ambitions several times. The 24-year-old is also in the double competition with Struff in the second round.
Five years after Angelique Kerber’s silver medal win, no German tennis player reached the round of the best 16th successor Anna-Lena Friedsam from Andernach was the last German participant to be eliminated with a 1: 6, 1: 6 against the Russian French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from. Kerber had canceled the Olympic Games due to an injury.
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