TennisSection previews the 2021 Munich Open as Jan-Lennard Struff (7) meets Ilya Ivashka in the Semi-Finals on Saturday May 1st, 2021.
A very surprising Semi-Final matchup is upon us at the 2021 Munich Open. Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany will face Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in what is set to be a very close battle here in Bavaria. Neither man was expected to reach this stage in the tournament but both fully deserve to be here. Who will win and advance to their first ATP Final of 2021?
Jan-Lennard Struff is ranked #44 in the ATP world rankings and is the seventh seed here at the 2021 Munich Open. The German has had a poor season so far by his standards, losing in the First Round in four tournaments this year. However, he has seemingly turned his season around with some strong performances here so far at home, defeating Dominik Koepfer, Andrej Martin and fourth seeded Filip Krajinovic to reach the Semi-Finals. His big serve and heavy topspin groundstrokes are very effective on this surface and he enters this match as the favorite. His opponent Ilya Ivashka is in red-hot form and should not be discounted, as they both bid to reach their first Final of the season.
Ilya Ivashka is currently ranked a lowly #107 in the ATP world rankings but is having a fantastic clay court season thus far in 2021. After reaching the Quarter-Finals in Andalucia, he took a set off Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, a feat that not many are capable of on clay. He has carried that outstanding form over to the 2021 Munich Open, defeating Emil Ruusovuori and Mackenzie McDonald to reach the Quarter-Finals. It was here that he had his biggest win of his career, defeating top seed Alexander Zverev in impressive fashion. Zverev was seemingly in control, even serving for the match in the second set. The Belarusian impressively rallied to get the shocking win and his confidence will be at an all-time high now. He enters this match against Jan-Lennard Struff as the underdog but is fully capable of winning here.
This will be the second time that the two players have faced each other, with Jan-Lennard Struff leading the head to head series 1-0. They played in a Davis Cup tie, with the German winning in straight-sets on hard courts. This has the potential to be a very close match, with both men capable of getting the win. This is a particularly tough match to call, but I am backing Ilya Ivashka to get the win here. The Qualifier is in tremendous form, and while Struff is a very good player, he simply has been too inconsistent this year. Ilya Ivashka will win a tight match here and advance to the Final at the 2021 Munich Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Ilya Ivashka to win.
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