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Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff was determined to bounce back against Austria because he felt angry after losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. On Saturday, Djokovic beat Struff 6-2 6-4 but still Germany claimed a 2-1 victory over Serbia at the Davis Cup Finals.
On Sunday, Struff bounced back with a 7-5 6-4 win over Dennis Novak. "There was a bit pressure on me, going out there at 0-1, but I handled it pretty well,” said Struff, per the Davis Cup Finals website. “I went in with a very aggressive style from the first point on and that was the big key to the win.
“There is always pressure playing tennis, however. There is no match without any pressure. I mean, you put pressure on yourself or some circumstances put pressure on you. “To play for Germany is one of the biggest pressures you can get and there is a lot of tension everywhere.
But, as I say, I dealt with it well. “There was also anger from yesterday [losing to Djokovic in straight sets]. I didn’t play and perform to the level I wanted. I also had too many thoughts in my head before the Djokovic match”.
Struff helps Germany reach the quarterfinal
Dominik Koepfer lost to Jurij Rodionov in the opening rubber but Struff beat Novak to force a decisive rubber. In the decisive rubber, Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz beat Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald to seal victory over Austria.
"I am very proud,” said German captain Michael Kohlmann. “It wasn’t easy to come out after our big win on Saturday against one of the greatest players in the world and in the history of tennis, and that is in your head.
“We were also favourites, so that makes it more difficult. Jurij played a really good match to put Austria 1-0 up, but how we handled that, it showed what kind of team we are. We stick together whether it is running good, or whether it is running bad.
“Sticking together gave us a chance to come back and that makes me really proud. Now we have our chance to get revenge against Great Britain after losing to them in the quarter-finals two years ago”.