2 things that stood out in Jan-Lennard Struff's 1R win over Zhang Zhizhen at Stuttgart Open 2023

Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany beat Zhang Zhizhen of China 6-1 6-4 in the first round of the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday, June 13. The match lasted just over an hour, with the 33-year-old German winning quite easily in the end.

Struff, who was the runner-up at the Madrid Open last month, will take on fifth seed Tommy Paul of the United States in the second round on Thursday, June 15.

On that note, here's a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1 Jan-Lennard Struff overpowered Zhang Zhizhen with his powerful groundstrokes

Jan-Lennard Struff dominated Zhang Zhizhen with his powerful groundstrokes throughout the match. The 26-year-old Chinese could not hit his shots with enough power despite starting the match on a great note by breaking his opponent in the first game.

Struff broke back immediately and then held his serve to take the lead. He then broke the Chinese twice more to extend his lead and win the first set comfortably.

Zhang rushed the net on a few occasions only to find himself on the receiving end of the German’s passing shots. As the first set progressed, Struff started venturing up to the net more frequently to put pressure on Zhang.

#2 Struff's big serve and volleys forced Zhang into submission

Jan-Lennard Struff continued to serve big in the second set and also came to the net frequently to pile the pressure on Zhang. The World No. 56 had no answer and failed to assert himself in the second set as well.

The German once again broke early in the second set. He had a total of six break-point opportunities in the match and converted four of them. Zhang, meanwhile, could not create a single break-point opportunity after the one he got in the first game of the match.

Struff won 81% and 63% of the points on his first and second serves, respectively. Zhang, on the other hand, could win only 62% and 38% of his first and second serves.

Although Struff will start as the underdog against Tommy Paul, he is more than capable of causing an upset. His powerful game is well-suited to grass and he will be buoyed by the home support as well.