SZCZECIN, September 20, 2015

Jan-Lennard Struff captured the title of the € 106,500 Pekao Szczecin Open on Sunday. Last year’s runner-up from Germany, who lost the final 2014 to fellow countryman Dustin Brown, defeated Ukrainian qualifier Artem Smirnov in straight sets.

Struff  won 89% of his first service points and by converting his seventh break point, the world number 148 from Warstein claimed the opening set in the tenth game. Smirnov lost his service again in the eighth game of the second set. In the following, the 25-year-old German, who has started a new partnership with Germany’s former Davis Cup captain Carsten Arriens at the US-Open, served the encounter out, converting his second match point after one hour and 16 minutes, winning 6-4, 6-3.

Jan-Lennard Struff (photo: Szczecin Open)

Struff claimed his second ATP Challenger career title, after he had lifted the trophy on home soil in Heilbronn last year, taking away € 15,300 in prize money as well as 125 ATP ranking points.

“Artem played very well, it was pretty tough. He is a leftie, so it was different compared to yesterday. He hit a couple of good backhand shots but I stayed focused,” Struff told afterwards.