Working after taking time off due to a hip injury Jan-Lennard Struff on his comeback on the ATP tour. In the tennisnet interview, the 33-year-old Warsteiner reports on the current status of his preparations.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edited: September 8, 2023, 2:11 p.m
© Getty Images
Jan-Lennard Struff is really excited about his comeback.
Jan-Lennard Struff had an outstanding first half of the season, in which he reached his career high of 21st place in the world rankings by reaching the finals of the Masters event in Madrid and the ATP tournament in Stuttgart. Due to a hip injury, the German Davis Cup player had to miss the Grand Slam tournaments in Wimbledon and New York. As an endurance test, he completed a week of training at the TennisBase Oberhaching under the guidance of his coach Carsten Arriens and then took time to speak to tennisnet.
tennisnet: Jan-Lennard, first the most important question: How are you physically at the moment?
Jan-Lennard Struff: Actually, I’m doing quite well. I was able to train here all week and didn’t have any major problems. In the last few weeks we have been able to increase the volume more and more. What it looks like will only become apparent in the competition. The impressions from the training were very positive.
tennisnet: In addition to Wimbledon, you also had to miss the US Open, which is currently underway. Do you follow the action more on TV during such an injury break?
Struff: During a phase like this, I try to switch off from tennis in other ways. But in general I’m just too interested in how the matches turn out. During a tournament, I usually only watch the crucial phases of matches in my room. For the US Open, I got a streaming pass and watched some of my Davis Cup colleagues’ matches. During Wimbledon and Cincinnati I watched something in the evenings when my kids were in bed.
tennisnet: After your successful weeks in the first half of the year, you had to cancel the tournament in Wimbledon. When did your hip first become noticeable?
Struff: Actually at the Challenger in Bordeaux, which I played next after the tournament in Madrid. I missed it once in the quarter-final against Moutet and wasn’t really good in the semi-final defeat against Etcheverry either. Afterwards we did a first scan at home, where everything was still in order and I was therefore able to play at the French Open and the first grass tournaments. Towards the middle of the tournament in Halle I felt something again for the first time, but I didn’t have the feeling that it was anything serious. The scan after the tournament showed a significant deterioration, which is why I had to pull out for Wimbledon.
Positive signs for re-entry
tennisnet: An injury never comes at a good time for an athlete. Does it still help you prepare that you played so successfully beforehand?
Struff: It definitely helps that I’m right back in the top tournaments because of my ranking at the beginning. From my level it will of course be exciting to see how the first weeks of the tournament go. In any case, I can play a lot of ATP tournaments for now and don’t have to switch to the Challenger Tour like I did after last year’s injury break. My successful tournaments before the injury obviously give me a lot of incentive to get back there. But if you’re out for a longer period of time, you have to work hard again to get back there.
tennisnet: Last season you had a difficult year where you went way down in the rankings. Nevertheless, there were highlights such as the matches in the Davis Cup. How important were these for you?
Struff: I had a bad start last year with an injury. In between I always had good matches, which I often lost closely. The Davis Cup group stage in Hamburg was outstanding for me and gave me a boost for the rest of the season, with good results in Sofia and Bergamo. Playing for Germany is always something very special for me.
Start beim UTS-Show-Event in Frankfurt
tennisnet: Your comeback is currently planned at the UTS show event in Frankfurt. Why was the decision made for this event?
Struff: Originally, of course, I had the plan to play the tournaments in the USA and then in the Davis Cup. After such a long break, it makes no sense for me to join the Davis Cup straight away, as I wouldn’t be any help to the team. That’s why the UTS event is a good opportunity for me to go in highly motivated but to keep the risk as low as possible. I can test my limits much better in timed games. The event was actually already full, but fortunately this opportunity arose for me due to Kyrgios’ cancellation.
tennisnet: How do you see such new show formats? Do you think traditional tennis should change in this direction?
Struff: I actually think traditional tennis is cool the way it is. I’m also a big fan of the five-set matches and found it particularly special when they ended 15:13 in the deciding set. For fairness in the competition, it is of course better if there is a tie-break at the end and this is the same in all four Grand Slam tournaments. In general there is a development in society, the faster the better. A show event like this in Frankfurt is a new approach for me too. I’ve never played anything like this before and in general I’m always open to such innovations. I’m also noticing that I’m increasingly running out of time privately and that I’m more likely to watch highlight clips from tennis matches or football games, which I couldn’t imagine doing before. Nevertheless, tennis, with its attributes such as endurance and multifacetedness, should be preserved in its traditional form if possible.
Tour comeback planned in Asia
tennisnet: According to current plans, you should continue your tour on the Asia tour. What goals do you still have until the end of the season?
Struff: I’m definitely keen to play good matches again and achieve good results. The current goal is to play in Asia again. But of course I have to wait and see whether my body is ready again. After three months, it won’t be easy to get back into the match rhythm straight away. Maybe I have the advantage that other players are a bit tired because they have played the entire last few weeks. I’m just really looking forward to getting back on the court and getting the best out of myself.
Thank you for the interview and all the best for the next few weeks.
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Struff Jan-Lennard
2023-09-08 12:00:00
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