Rolex Paris Masters 2019: Jan-Lennard Struff Stuns Defending Champion Karen Khachanov in Second Round

Jan-Lennard Struff pulled off a brilliant upset over defending champion Karen Khachanov in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters 2019, defeating the Russian 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 in nearly 2 hours on Tuesday.

Set one

There was very little to differentiate between the two in the first set as the set saw no breakpoints and was forced to go through the tiebreaker with both the players holding their serve till 6-6.

The tiebreaker was a replication of the set as the two held their serve points with each winning a single mini-break till 5-5. However, it was the German who changed gears at the right moment as he won two consecutive points with a mini-break to clinch the opening set 7-6(5) in 46 minutes.

Set two

The defending champion got back in the match after winning the first three games of the second set, breaking Jan-Lennard Struff for the first time in the match. Karen Khachanov then served out the set 6-3 without facing a single breakpoint in his 5 service games, taking the match to the decider.

Set three

Jan-Lennard Struff put himself on the driving seat after he broke Karen Khachanov for the first time in the match in the final set, taking the lead of 3-1 when Khachanov hit the ball in the crowd. However, Khachanov fought back hard to get the rebreak in the next game and get back on serve.

The set was looking to go through the final set tiebreaker but Struff broke the No.8 seed Russian while he was serving to stay in the match and secure the match, winning the third set 7-5.

Jan-Lennard Struff will face the winner between Matteo Berrettini and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round of the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters.