STUTTGART/STARNBERG, June 13, 2023
Jan-Lennard Struff delighted his home crowd at the BOSS Open by reaching the second round of the ATP 250 grass-court event in Stuttgart. The 33-year-old German defeated Zhizhen Zhang of China 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday afternoon.
Struff was in cruise control, struck seven aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to advance in only 58 minutes.
Through in ✌️@Struffitennis takes out Zhang 6-1 6-4 to move through to R2 in Stuttgart!#BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/nayxVSh5xg
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 13, 2023
The World No. 24 will next play No. 5 seed Tommy Paul from the United States, who beat Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and four minutes.
“There are opponents like that. Some players suit you better, some worse. He has very good shots, takes the pace out of the ball well and is also very mobile,” Struff said about his next opponent.
Wu ousts Kyrgios
Later in the afternoon, Yibing Wu showed an impressive first-time performance on grass by knocking out Australian No. 8 seed Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3.
Through In Two! 👏
Yibing Wu takes out Kyrgios with a 7-5 6-3 win at the #BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/tU7mN4WEr2
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 13, 2023
“The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years,” said Wu after his victory. “I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well… He aced me [so many] times. The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient in the game and find a way. I’m happy [with that result].”
Kyrgios, who had to undergo surgery in his left lateral meniscus in January, appeared to be struggling physically during the match but the 23-year-old Chinese also capitalized on his chances. Wu broke his rival’s serve twice and secured victory in one hour and nine minutes.
“Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was,” Kyrgios posted on Twitter.
Tomorrow’s Order of Play 🗒️
All matches live on ServusTV 👉 Don’t forget to tune in 📺#BOSSOPEN #atptour #atp #stuttgart #tennis pic.twitter.com/zUMmkhBAgz
— BOSS OPEN (@boss__open) June 13, 2023
