Tennis: Jan Lennard Struff is the German long-running sports favorite

Patrik Kühnen is generally a friendly person, but when he talks about Jan-Lennard Struff, he even goes into raptures. “For me it was a given that Struffi would get a wildcard,” said the tournament director of the Munich ATP tennis tournament, which begins this weekend with the qualifying field at the MTTC Iphitos. And Kühnen could hardly be stopped: “Not just because he was the tournament winner here at the BMW Open. But because he has made outstanding contributions as a German player throughout his entire career. He always stood his ground. He always held up the German flag in the Davis Cup. He is a great player who has already gotten through many difficult phases.” That’s the way it is.

Jan-Lennard Struff, 36 years old in two weeks, is an inconspicuous yet special player in German men’s tennis. He held the national team together for years, was always ready, unlike Alexander Zverev, and saved them from relegation. The 1.93 meter long athlete also serves as an example of how to assert yourself for a long time on the highest professional series, the ATP Tour, despite periods of injury and form crises. He made his professional debut in 2009. Kühnen, who won the Davis Cup three times during the times of Boris Becker and Michael Stich, also gives the highest praise in this regard: “I just remember the year 2025. He traveled to the qualification for the US Open, got through the qualifying, played an outstanding tournament and only lost in the fourth round against Novak Djokovic. Or at the end of the season he went to Lyon to play a Challenger and with a win there he would make the cut for the Australian Open. That’s Struffi! He stands up! He fights!”

Struff is currently 78th in the world rankings, with this placement he didn’t make it into the main field in Munich, the cut was 54th place. Only those who were better slipped straight into the table. But the long-running favorite Struff, this is also a recognition of his reliable work, was given a wild card, a free starting place. The other wildcards were given to the talented Justin Engel, 18, from Nuremberg and the Belgian Alexander Blockx, 21. The Warsteiner, father of two children, could also use this boost as he once again had a bad start to the season. Struff knows only too well the time spiral in which actor Bill Murray found himself in the classic “Groundhog Day”. Although he didn’t travel to Munich quite as badly as he was hit with defeats last year. But only a few victories in qualifying matches and just one main round game win wear out on him. “Self-image is lacking a bit,” he admits. Struff doesn’t panic (that only happens when his beloved BVB loses three times in a row).

Dieter Kindlmann is now training Justin Engel, the greatest talent in German men’s tennis

“It obviously helps that you have already been through a lot of things in your career,” he said on Friday at the first press conference of the Munich tournament. “Such a situation generally doesn’t feel good. It’s just normal. Dealing with it is the important thing.” His recipe? “I work hard. I’m in the gym a lot, I run a lot. I play a lot and try to regain my self-image.”

The newcomer Engel is currently experiencing that talent is a good basis, but continuous, focused work is actually much more important. The Franconian is considered the best hope of German tennis men, but until recently there was a lot of unrest in his environment. There were coaching changes, he moved to Monte Carlo, and according to reports he no longer works closely with his father, who was his first sponsor for a long time. Engel is 186th in the world rankings, which is respectable, especially since there are no other German talents to be found in the top 200 anywhere else. But Engel has been stagnating in this area for a long time. Former professional Dieter Kindlmann, who once started as a hitting partner for Maria Sharapova and trained Angelique Kerber, is supposed to stabilize his performance.

Struff also proves that patience pays off. Even in difficult phases last year, he stuck with his experienced coach Markus Wislsperger. They didn’t immediately question everything. Instead, they patiently worked on “adjusting screws,” as Struff explains. He is sure that he will be able to turn this season around for the better. How long does he want to continue this struggle? Without thinking twice, Struff says: “As long as the fire is still there, and the fire is there. When I was little, I dreamed of standing here, playing, and at some point it will be over. As long as you want to enjoy it. In the here and now.”