Struff, ranked 100th in the world, 49 places above Lajal, had already beaten the Estonian in qualifying for the Athens ATP tournament, also in straight sets 7–6 (1), 7–5, on the first day of this month.

This time around, and in something of a service duel, Lajal had break points in both the second and sixth games, but he was unable to convert them. Struff, once ranked as high as 21st in the world, won four of the five points played in the game seven and pulled off the set's only break.

In the second set, the experienced German put Lajal under pressure in every one of his service games. Game one was the first of these, and Struff earned a break on his fourth attempt.

Two games later, Lajal managed to fend off three break points, but did not attain a single break opportunity of his own; in game seven, Lajal's service was broken again, to seal the result.

The entire match lasted an hour and seven minutes.

Lajal served nine aces but also committed five double faults. He won 67 percent of points on his first serve and 41 percent on his second serve, and was able to fend off eight of Struff's 11 break point.

Struff will face second-seeded Czech player Vit Kopriva (ATP 102) next.

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