De Minaur beats Struff at UTS London, qualifies for semi-finals
The Australian lost the first quarter on Saturday before coming back to win the next three
Alex de Minaur, UTS London 2024
Alex ‘The Demon’ de Minaur scored his second win in as many matches at UTS London by Builder.ai and qualify for the Final Four.
De Minaur came from one quarter down to beat Jan-Lennard ‘The Thunder’ Struff 13-16, 18-11, 19-8, 21-6. With Holger Rune beating Alexander Bublik in the match after, the Aussie is assured of top spot in Group B and a place in the semi-finals.
Struff wins the first quarter in a close contest
Struff built an early lead in the first quarter, as the German went up 9-5 only to see De Minaur claw his way back to 10-10. With Struff leading 11-10, the Australian used his Bonus Card successfully to go up 13-11. However, on the very next point, Struff used his own Bonus Card successfully to take a 14-13 lead which he then held on to and won the first quarter 16-13.
De Minaur bounces back to win the next three quarters
In the second quarter, it was De Minaur who took the lead and used his Bonus Card successfully at 13-9 to take a 16-9 lead. By that point, the Australian had won eight points in a row and he claimed the second quarter 18-11.
The Demon was completely dominant in the third quarter as he won 11 of the first 12 points to take a 11-1 lead. While trailing 14-5, The Thunder used his Bonus Card successfully to make cut his deficit to 14-8. But it turned out to be too little too late as De Minaur won the third quarter 19-8.
The Aussie continued to keep the pressure on Struff and started the fourth quarter on a positive note, taking a 11-2 lead and went on to win it 21-6 to claim the win three quarters to one. Struff, who had won his first match on Friday, is now 1-1 at UTS London by Builder.ai.
Here are the current standings:
- Alex de Minaur – 2 wins
- Jan-Lennard Struff – 1 win, 1 loss
- Holger Rune – 1 win, 1 loss
- Alexander Bublik – 2 losses (eliminated)
