A pro since 2009, Jan-Lennard Struff has finally captured his maiden title on the ATP Tour by winning the 2024 BMW Open in Munich. The fourth-seeded German defeated No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz from the United States, 7-5, 6-3 in Sunday’s title final.
In damp, cold (three degrees Celsius) conditions and in front of packed stands at the MTTC Iphitos, Struff showed some blockbuster tennis. Despite a difficult start, in which he didn’t get many cheap points on serve and Fritz made the German to always play one more ball, the World No. 28 Struff fought his way back into the encounter. He saved three set points in the 10th game and broke Fritz in the following game to secure the opening set after 45 minutes.
Soon, Struff took the momentum into the second set and gained another early break. Fritz didn’t get into many rallies afterward thanks to a powerful and dominant performance from the German. Struff took the balls early, had a good length in his shots and closed the match out with a commanding smash after one hour and 49 minutes. Then, the home favourite promptly raised his arms in celebration toward his team.
Struff: “Unbelievable feeling!”
“I have been on the tour for such a long time. It’s an unbelievable feeling to win my first title home soil,” said Struff, who was playing in the Munich event for the 13th time and didn’t drop a set throughout the tournament. “I played good tennis this week. I am very happy, as I beat many great guys. It’s just amazing to do it here in Germany.”
The Warstein native, who lost all three of his previous finals, could finally celebrate in the ATP Tour winners’ circle. At the age of 33 years and 11 months, Struff became the third oldest first-time champion after Paolo Lorenzi (2016 Kitzbühel) and Victor Estrella Burgos (2015 Quito). He earned €88,125 in prize money, 250 valuable ATP Ranking points as well as a brand-new BMW i50 M60 full electric car. Struff also received a traditional Bavarian Lederhosen, which he wore during the on-court ceremony.
“Congratulations to Jan-Lennard. You played amazing all week and great today,” said Fritz, who appeared in his first clay-court final. The 15th-ranked Californian collected a prize purse of €51,400 and 165 ATP Ranking points. “Thanks for having me and thanks to the crowd, who came out to support us. It’s a great tournament here. I had two pretty good years here.”
Doubles finalist – next up Madrid
Later in the afternoon, Struff returned to the court alongside his compatriot Andreas Mies for the doubles final. The pair, however, lost 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in one hour and 51 minutes to Yuki Bhambri of India and Frenchman Albano Olivetti. Struff will next compete in the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid, where he lost to Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz in the championship match last year.
“It’s another special tournament. I am looking forward to the grounds where I had such a good time last year,” the German commented on the upcoming week in Spain.
BMW Open ready for the upgrade
Despite the challenging weather conditions this week, the organizers drew a positive conclusion.
“The weather didn’t detract from the tournament. We saw great tennis with some surprises,” said Christian Ach, CEO BMW Germany. The multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles, headquartered only few kilometres away from the tournament’s venue, became the event’s main sponsor in 1987 and will remain so in the upcoming years.
“We are very pleased with BMW’s commitment, allowing us to continue our shared journey in the coming years,” said Fabian Tross, Board Member of the host and licensee MTTC Iphitos. He also pointed out that despite next year’s upgrade, the tournament’s character will not change. “We don’t want to lose our values. We aim to preserve tradition and the unique atmosphere, while remaining close-knit like a family.”
Christian Okon, Managing Director of the organizer MMP Event, stated that for the first time in the history of the BMW Open, all nine days of competition sold out completely before the start of the tournament. “We sold 47,700 tickets. That’s not an everyday occurrence. Despite the changeable weather, the fans were always close by. That delights us greatly and made it a lot of fun.”
Tournament director Patrik Kühnen added that players and coaches were very pleased with the treatment throughout the week. “We could witness world-class tennis right from the first day of the qualifying. We also had great matches and a fantastic audience at the Allianz Para Trophy, our first ITF Grade 1 Wheelchair event. Thanks to the entire team. Despite the tough conditions, everyone involved always had a smile on their face. Special thanks go to our on-court crew, who did a fantastic job ensuring that all courts were always playable.”
The 2025 edition of the BMW Open will return as an ATP 500 event and is scheduled for April 14 to 20.
