Who will get their forehand through more often?

At the end of the season, many tennis players already have the next season in mind. Jan-Lennard Struff recently decided to make two detours to the Challenger level in order to collect important ranking points. Both attempts failed and he was eliminated in the first round. The German is also facing elimination in the Karen Khachanov vs. Jan-Lennard Struff tip.

Unlike his defeats on the Challenger Tour, this would come as no surprise. The 35-year-old has slipped to 98th place in the ATP rankings. His 2025 tennis year has been mixed, although there were some highs even before the Karen Khachanov vs. Jan-Lennard Struff prediction.

One bright spot was his run at the US Open. As a qualifier, the Warstein native knocked Holger Rune out of the last Grand Slam of the year and advanced to the fourth round. However, the German then won only three sets in his next three matches leading up to the start of the Almaty Open.

At least Struffi survived his first match against Mackenzie McDonald (2:1) and advanced to the next round of the Almaty Open. However, this required a comeback from the German after a weak first set (2:6). Inconsistent performances like the first-round match have been a frequent occurrence this season. The Karen Khachanov – Jan-Lennard Struff betting odds take into account the 35-year-old’s lack of consistency and send him onto the court as the clear underdog.

Furthermore, the top-seeded player is waiting for the German. Khachanov was able to save his energy in the first round and was sent directly to the next stage of the tournament thanks to a bye. Last year, the 29-year-old won the tournament with a final victory over Gabriel Diallo (2:1).

This season, the top 10 player is aiming for another big win, but to do so he will have to put his recent unexpected first-round exit at the Shanghai Masters (0:2 vs. Juncheng Shang) behind him. We expect the Russian tennis pro to get off to a successful start and, after registering with Bet365, are betting on Karen Khachanov to win 2-0 at odds of 2.00.

Karen Khachanov – Jan-Lennard Struff Head-to-head record

The odds favorite leads the head-to-head comparison relatively comfortably. Khachanov won three of the four meetings with Struff, but lost the only hard court duel. That defeat was six years ago and took place indoors at the Paris Masters.

Based on the current season, a straight-sets victory for the defending champion is entirely possible. The 29-year-old reached the final in Toronto (Masters tournament, 1-2 defeat to Ben Shelton) and has compiled a positive record of 30-21 wins this year. This means he has achieved more than twice as many successes on the tour as his German opponent (14-19) this season.

Karen Khachanov – Jan-Lennard Struff Tip

For Struff, the key to this match will be to hold his serve and prevent breaks. The 35-year-old likes to use serve-and-volley, which could deny his opponent the chance to hit powerful forehand shots.

However, as soon as Khachanov can force baseline duels in return games, the German is at a disadvantage. Although neither player has been in top form recently, the defending champion has had a much better season overall than his opponent.

In addition, Khachanov is ranked in the top 22 in both service quality (278.6) and return ability (145.3) over the last 52 weeks. Struff is a long way from that at this stage of his career.

In addition, Khachanov has won all seven of his titles on the tour on hard courts, which clearly demonstrates his preference for this surface.