Jan-Lennard Struff through to the finals at Boss Open

Historically, Jan-Lennard Struff has not had great success on grass surfaces. In fact, coming into the Boss Open, he was just 14-26 on grass.

If you watched his match today you would have no indication of that. You would also probably not realize he didn’t have an ATP singles title either.

But now, after defeating number 14 Hubert Hurkacz, Struff is through to an ATP Final for just the third time in his career, and second of this season, with perhaps his best chance at his maiden title.

Jan-Lennard Struff def. Hubert Hurkacz 3-6,6-3,6-3 at the Boss Open

In the first set, Hurkacz’s serve was the dominating narrative. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist came out guns blazing with his forehand and serve. In fact, in the first set alone he won 89% of his first serves, hit 7 aces, and 14 winners. Oh, and mind you, he only hit 1 unforced error.

In the second set, the narrative shifted, though. Struff reacted better to Hurckacz’s first serve and found ways to create more opportunities in rallies. Hurckacz’s first serve win percentage went from 89 percent to now 71 percent. As such, Struff became more aggressive, almost doubling his winner count from the first set.

In the third set, much of that followed from Struff. But keep in mind, Hurckacz’s game didn’t worsen. He committed just one unforced error in all three sets.

Instead, Struff continued with his dominant groundstrokes and found success at the net, winning 14 out of 15 in the final two sets. Now, Struff has a chance to continue climbing up the rankings and win that first title and win the Boss Open.

What can we expect in the finals from Jan-Lennard Struff?

Struff will face Frances Tiafoe in the finals, who similarly has a great serve and solid groundstrokes.

In what should be a great final match, Struff arguably has his best chance yet at capturing a maiden title. Tiafoe is a tough opponent, but if Struff can play similarly to the way he did, Tiafoe might be in for a tough time.