ATP Masters Madrid: Jan-Lennard Struff loses Carlos Alcaraz in the final after a great performance

Madrid was an “incredible journey”, explained Jan-Lennard Struff after the game. It was “great” to have a second chance as a lucky loser.

Carlos Alcaraz emphasized that it was “something very special to win a Masters here in Spain. I will never forget that. Sometimes I couldn’t show my game today and had to wait for my chances,” said the champion.

While Struff returned strongly and showed good body language, Alcaraz sometimes made unusual mistakes.

Nevertheless, the 20-year-old sealed the first set with another break to make it 4: 3 after a total of 52 minutes.

It was impressive how Struff reacted to the deficit.

Struff dominates set two against Alcaraz

The Warsteiner kept looking for coach Marvin Netuschil, gained security and self-confidence. In the second game, the world number 65 broke through. then the service from Alcaraz for the first time and shortly afterwards pulled away to 3-0.

Symbolic of Struff’s enormous will: In the fifth game, which lasted 15 (!) Minutes, he destroyed five breakballs and took a 4-1 lead. “Incredible. Struffi played and fended off all these balls well himself,” marveled Mischa Zverev, who accompanied the match as a TV expert for “Sky”.

So Struff got the set equalization fully deserved and sovereign. How much the veteran managed to annoy the big favorites was shown in the initial phase of the third round.

Football atmosphere: Alcaraz shows emotions

Alcaraz cheered impulsively and animated the fans in the Caja Mágica after fending off a break ball and winning the game to make it 2-1. There was a football atmosphere with Carlos chanting when the Spaniard added the break to make it 3-1.

It was the preliminary decision. Struff couldn’t get a foot in the door, Alcaraz made the title defense perfect after a playing time of 2:26 hours with the first match ball.

Struff missed out on winning a Masters tournament as the fifth German after Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Tommy Haas and Alexander Zverev, but Madrid can look back on an outstanding success.

“His answer in the second set was great, but Carlitos was stable in set three and he showed in the important moments why he is number one or two in the world,” said coach Netuschil on “Sky”.

Struff: Incredible journey as Lucky Loser

For Struff, the two weeks in Madrid were a fantastic journey that seemed to be over after the second round of qualifying. The German lost to Aslan Karatsev, but slipped into the main draw as a so-called lucky loser.

After surprisingly throwing Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the competition in the quarterfinals, he met Karatsev again – and beat the Russian in the fight for a place in the final.

A milestone for Struff, who had only reached a final at tour level in Munich in 2021 – and a record. Never before had a lucky loser made it to the finals of a Masters competition.