Struff reaches a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at 36 – but finds little joy in the way it came
At 36, on his 47th attempt at a major, Jan-Lennard Struff finally reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal – though he could take little joy in it, fighting back from two sets down only for close friend Hubert Hurkacz to retire hurt at 4-2 in the fifth. Jannik Sinner awaits.
Jan-Lennart Struff, Wimbledon 2026 | © Action Plus / PsNewz
Jan-Lennard Struff completed one of the more improbable comebacks of his career, reaching the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his life at the age of 36 after Hubert Hurkacz retired with a back injury.
Trailing by two sets, the world No. 74 hauled himself level and led 4-2 in the decider when the former Wimbledon semifinalist pulled out, the match finishing 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 4-2 ret. On his 47th Grand Slam appearance and 12th at Wimbledon, Struff becomes the oldest man in the Open Era to reach a maiden major quarterfinal.
There was little appetite to celebrate. “I would wish Hubi a speedy recovery, it’s not the way the match should end,” Struff said. “He’s one of my closest colleagues on the tour, and I feel sorry for him.” The circumstances had tempered the moment. “It was tough to celebrate on the court because I feel sorry for him. But in general, I’m very happy. I’m 36, my first quarters, it’s amazing.”
Struff: “Absolute highlight”
The milestone is a genuine one. At 36 years and 78 days, Struff moves clear of Fabrice Santoro (33 years, 51 days, Australian Open 2006) as the oldest man in the Open Era to reach a first Grand Slam quarterfinal. “Right now I’m still very relaxed, because of the circumstances at the end,” he said. “But it’s an absolute highlight, for sure.”
The finish was as awkward as it was joyless. Struff sensed something amiss in the fourth set – “I felt the serve speed went a bit down, but I wasn’t sure if he had problems or was just a bit tired” – yet Hurkacz, visibly hampered, kept producing the improbable. “The first service game in the fifth, he drop-shotted me, then chip-returned twice for winners. I was like, wow, that’s unbelievable,” Struff said. Hurkacz even broke him in that final set before, after a medical timeout, he could go on no longer.
Struff also nodded to a broader German surge on grass, crediting a run of home events – “Stuttgart, Halle, Berlin, Bad Homburg” — and a heritage running through Boris Becker, Steffi Graf and Michael Stich. His reward is daunting: a quarterfinal against defending champion Jannik Sinner, who earlier dismissed qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, and against whom Struff has never won. First, though, recovery. “The match was hard,” he said, “but I’m feeling pretty good. Trying to recover for the next one.”
Wimbledon 2026, men’s singles fourth round
J. Sinner [1] d. S. Mochizuki (Q): 6-3, 7-6(0), 6-3
J. Struff d. H. Hurkacz: 3-6, 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 7-5, 4-2 Ret.
F. Auger-Aliassime [3] d. A. Davidovich Fokina [22]: 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1
N. Djokovic [7] d. R. Safiullin (Q): 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
A. De Minaur [5] vs F. Cobolli [9] – Monday
G. Dimitrov (W) vs A. Fery (W) – Monday
T. Fritz [6] vs A. Bublik [10] – Monday
A. Zverev [2] vs J. Lehecka [13] – Monday
