Monte-Carlo 2023: De Minaur vs Struff Tennis Prediction and Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters second-round match featuring Alex De Minaur vs Jan-Lennard Struff on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

De Minaur vs Struff Match Preview and Prediction

Qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff is on a roll at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Will he take down the 14th seed Alex De Minaur?

Alex De Minaur handed Andy Murray an early exit at the Monte-Carlo Masters – a defeat so bad that Murray is now re-thinking his decision on whether to play the full clay-court swing. De Minaur won the first four games in the match, which proved damaging to Murray’s confidence. The Aussie did not face a single break point in the match as he completed a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win over the former World No. 1.

Jan-Lennard Struff made it three wins in three at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters after upsetting a former finalist in Albert Ramos Vinolas. Struff who has a 100% winning record in qualifying matches this season (11/11) made the most of an off-color Spaniard, hammering seven aces and winning 79% first-serve points to set up a second-round meeting against Alex De Minaur.

De Minaur vs Struff Prediction and Pick

Alex De Minaur leads Jan-Lennard Struff 2-1 in their head-to-head, although they haven’t played since 2020. Struff has played brilliantly at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters right from qualifying, but the quality opponents leave a lot to be desired. Ruusuuvori is hardly a threat on clay, and Ramos Vinolas is the worst-performing player in the top 50 right now. Struff’s power is an intimidating part of his game, but I trust De Minaur in this one. The Aussie covers the court so well and he’ll at least try to keep the German’s ace count to a single digit. Ultimately he’ll frustrate Struff with his extraordinary retrieval skills and the errors will creep into his game.