Jan-Lennard Struff spread his arms beaming in the bad weather in Munich after the match point to win his first title on the professional tennis tour. After the early exit of top favorite Alexander Zverev, the unleashing and nerve-racking veteran took the lead role at the BMW Open and delighted the German fans with a home win in a 7:5, 6:3 win against the American Taylor Fritz. The match, clearly dominated by Struff, lasted 79 minutes.
“Absolutely crazy, it feels very good. Emotionally it was an important victory for me. I beat super players – unbelievable. I’ve been waiting for this tournament victory for so long. It’s my 14th year,” said Struff before the Victory ceremony on Center Court. “The conditions were very difficult.” That made the success even more valuable.
In addition to the prize money of 88,125 euros, the long-awaited premiere success of “Struffi”, celebrated by the spectators around national soccer player Thomas Müller on the Center Court, was sweetened with an expensive sports car from the main sponsor and the obligatory lederhosen.
Rain, cold, wind – nothing can stop “Struffi”.
Rain, cold, wind, interruptions – the German Davis Cup player didn’t let the difficult external conditions or the four opponents, whom he defeated without losing a set, stop him at the traditional tournament at the MTTC Iphitos facility.
Even in the final there was sometimes more, sometimes less dribbling. Struff wore warm leggings and appeared extremely focused. He scored the first and last point of the game. He often scored points, especially with his cracking forehand. There was also strong nerves: in the first round, Struff fended off three set points from his opponent. The 26-year-old Californian Fritz defeated the Chilean Cristian Garin in the semifinals, who had previously defeated the top seed Zverev.
Heavy worker Struff loses the double final
Struff had lost his three previous finals at ATP tournaments, one of which was also at the clay court event in Munich in 2021. “I hope I can take the final step,” he said on Saturday after he managed “a perfect match” in the 6-2, 6-0 semi-final against last year’s winner Holger Rune from Denmark.
Nevertheless, Struff was a hard worker on the final weekend. Because he had to go to the pitch five times because he had to successfully finish his quarter-final on Saturday morning. Three singles matches, two doubles – the spectators saw Struff in constant action.
After the individual final, Struff was only able to breathe briefly before missing out on his second title win of the day alongside Andreas Mies. In the final of the doubles competition, the German duo lost again after two tiebreaks against Yuki Bhambri from India and the Italian Albano Olivetti on Center Court with 6:7 (6:8), 6:7 (5:7).
47,500 spectators – new stadium by 2027
47,500 spectators ensured nine sold-out days of tennis. And the traditional tournament should not lose its charm even after it has been upgraded to a larger 500cc event. “Yes, we want to get bigger, but stay familiar and down-to-earth,” said Fabian Tross, chairman of MTTC Iphitos. The new, significantly larger stadium is scheduled to be completed by 2027. The prize money increases from around 600,000 to more than 2.5 million euros.
