MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 6, 2023

Jan-Lennard Struff

Press Conference

J.L. STRUFF/A. Karatsev

4-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Could you possibly imagine 11 days ago when you played Aslan that you'd be playing each other again? And now you're in a Masters 1000 final.

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: No, of course not. I mean, after the loss there, it wasn't a great match I played there in the quallies.

I mean, I was very happy, it was my birthday there, I lost there, was very happy that I got chosen for Lucky Loser, that I had been drawn two out of three.

Yeah, very, very happy to get a second chance. But I think this is just I didn't know if this happened ever before that semifinals then. Yeah, this is just a crazy story, I would say. Yeah, couldn't have imagined this, for sure not to be now in a final here.

Q. Did you realize that you will play the final in two days?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah, I realized. That's fine. Yeah, will be, for me it's, yeah, very, very nice. Playing Alcaraz here finals will be great atmosphere. Alcaraz is I think 19 or 20 in Spain on clay courts, it will be, yeah, a lot of work to do to, yeah, that I can beat him.

But, yeah, really looking forward to the match. We played two matches so far. The last one Wimbledon was very intense one. Was a great match which I lost very close, but really, really good match.

Yeah, really looking forward to Sunday. Very happy to be in the finals.

Q. As you said, you are the first player that has arrived to final as Lucky Loser. How do you feel about being the first one? Any special feeling?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah, it's just crazy. Like I said, I never would have expected this one to be in the finals after Lucky Loser.

It's just if you have a second chance, yeah, I try to go for it. Now I'm here in the finals. It's just incredible journey and story, here in Madrid, and very, very happy.

Yeah, just that you shouldn't give up and try again always.

Q. You have faced Alcaraz two times, both in Grand Slams. What do you remember about those games? What do you think that Carlos has changed since then?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah, I mean, Carlos is now 20 years old today. We played in Roland Garros when he was 18. For a young player like him, he changed so much in this time. When we see what he achieved in this last two years, it's just amazing.

Yeah, I managed to beat him in Roland Garros. From the matches as well in Wimbledon, it was very intense match, very, very -- he's a complete player. He has a lot of weapons. He's serve and volleying, playing strong from the baseline, serving well, he has a dropshot. He's very fast. He's a great athlete.

So, yeah, I just remember that it was two tough battles, and I'm happy that I have a rest day tomorrow. It was for me two tough battles now in a row, and I will be ready to prepare for Sunday. Really, really happy to be in the finals, and really looking forward to this match.

Q. What was your state of mind when you left the top 100 one year ago after your foot injury?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah. Yeah, it was tough. Last year was a rough year for me. I didn't play well beginning of the year. Injured my foot, fractured my toe, right big toe, and was about to start practicing again and had some other problems in the foot which kept me from playing on clay where I had a lot of points.

I left top 100, 150, 160. Started the year like with 160. Yeah, it was tough last year because I felt like I didn't play the best tennis I could, and was struggling a bit definitely, but I didn't stop working. I did a lot of fitness. I did a lot of practice still. I was focused, committed.

We had a very good preseason in Tenerife this year. And, yeah, I think this was a big key to have a good season like this, because we had a bit more time with Davis Cup this year, because the preseason before were very, very short for me because we always stayed late in Davis Cup. This was really a good block of practice, and yeah, it worked out pretty well. But it went this fast, yeah, I couldn't have imagined, but I worked a lot for this.

Q. You lost 11 days ago against Aslan. What did you change today to change the result? In a mental way and in a tactical way.

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah, I mean, in a tactic way, I didn't play the really, really good match there in the quallies, but he played pretty well. I would say outside courts are a bit faster, as well, a bit smaller.

It was very, very hot that day, 30 degrees. It was bouncing. Now we played in evening, which was a bit difference, as well. He went for his shots and was very tough to return in the quallies match. I had a bit problems with this -- he hit very hard in that match, and it was very tough to control.

So today it was more important to be ready for the shots, to go a bit more by myself, to play more aggressive from my side. That was the tactic way.

The mindset was like to allow myself to play this offensive game style, to go through the ball and stay focused and stay positive the whole time.

Q. So small thing on Sunday, playing Carlos Alcaraz. Somebody mentioned the dropshot earlier. What can you do to counter that dropshot?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: I mean, if a player is executing a dropshot pretty well, there are some shots you don't get. That's normal. But, yeah, if you have very good depth in your game and you play long balls, it's tougher to play the dropshot. But I think Carlos is such a talented player he can play it from everywhere.

Yeah, I haven't really thought about how to handle this, because we go, right now I'm very happy to be in the finals, and we will go for tactics a bit tomorrow a bit deeper in this, and yeah, but I remember he played decent dropshots, yeah, he can do.

Q. Can you just tell us when did you and how did you know that you will be Lucky Loser in this tournament?

JAN-LENNARD STRUFF: Yeah, I mean, I lost at 11:00 in the morning. The match wasn't that long. Maybe 12:30 I was out. Then I heard that one guy pulled out, I think Lestienne was it, and Fognini pulled out, and if they pull out during the quallies draw, they will decide by lot or put coins.

There were two Lucky Losers, so they take three in total. And after the quallies finished they did it, and they have always one representative to take the coins, and luckily he took me. He texted me straightaway, and I knew this guy, it was a bit lucky, I don't know.

Then Altmaier was there, as well, and he didn't get in but he managed to get in as well later. So, yeah, incredible. It was just lucky, yeah.