Munich Open: Jan-Lennard Struff reaches maiden ATP Tour final after beating Ilya Ivashka in straight sets

Munich: Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff could barely contain his glee after victory on Saturday in Munich means he has reached his first final on the ATP tour at the eighth attempt. The 31-year-old beat Belarusian qualifier Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-1 at the ATP clay court tournament in the Bavarian capital to finally end his miserable run of semi-final defeats. “I am very happy to have reached my first final, here in Germany of all places, in Munich,” Struff, who turned pro in 2009, told local broadcaster BR. In Sunday’s final, Struff, who hails from Warstein near Dortmund, faces either Norwegian second seed Casper Ruud or Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili. “I’m very happy with the way I played,” Struff said. “It feels good to have won in two sets, but it wasn’t easy.”

The @Struffitennis title watch is ON 🇩🇪

After 7 losses at the semi-final stage, the German reaches his maiden ATP final on home soil, dispatching Ivashka 6-4 6-1 in Munich!#BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/OEpveuEYHp

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 1, 2021

Even though he is ranked 107th in the world, Ivashka had knocked out top seed Alexander Zverev in Friday’s quarter-finals and raced into a 3-0 lead against Struff before the German wrestled back control of the semi-final. Earlier, Ruud and Basilashvili reached the last four in Munich after winning their rain-interrupted quarter-finals. Ruud earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over eighth-seeded Australian John Millman, while Basilashvili beat Slovakian lucky loser Norbert Gombos for a 6-4, 6-4.