Following the 36-year-old’s exit, Alexander Zverev is the last German left in the field at the Masters.
Professional tennis player Jan-Lennard Struff has been knocked out in the second round of the ATP Masters in Shanghai – meaning that, from a German perspective, only Alexander Zverev remains in the running at the hard-court event in China. Struff (36) lost 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 to former world number one Daniil Medvedev on Saturday; it was his second defeat to the Russian in the space of eight days: Struff had already been knocked out by Medvedev in the round of 16 in Beijing (4–6, 3–6).
The top seed, French Open and US Open winner Zverev, faces Frenchman Quentin Halys in the third round on his way to the top of the world rankings. Given the injury to current world number one Jannik Sinner, it is only a matter of time before he reaches the top spot; Zverev could even seal the deal in Shanghai: if he reaches the semi-finals, he is guaranteed to start the new year as world number one.
Before Struff, Yannick Hanfmann and Daniel Altmaier had already been knocked out in Shanghai, both losing their second-round matches.