Munich. A powerful smash, and then it was done. In the fourth final of his career and his 13th appearance at the BMW Open, Jan-Lennard Struff was able to celebrate his first title on the ATP Tour in Munich on Sunday. The 33-year-old took 1:19 hours to defeat Taylor Fritz 7-5, 6-3 in Sunday's final. As a reward for winning his first title on the ATP tour, the German receives EUR 88,125 in prize money, the traditional champion's Lederhosen, and an all-electric Winner's Car: the BMW i5 M60 (Combined power consumption: 21.2-18.2 kWh/100 km. Combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km. Electric range: 439-516 kilometers. All data according to WLTP). BMW also announced on Sunday that the title partnership, which began back in 1987, will continue in the future. As such, the tournament will continue to be called the BMW Open when it enters a new era as an ATP 500 event next year.

"It was once again a fantastic tournament week," said Bernhard Kuhnt, Head of BMW Region Europe, handing over the keys to the car at the presentation ceremony. "The BMW Group is proud to have been title sponsor of this magnificent sporting event in our home city for the 37th time - and that we will continue to be the title sponsor. On behalf of the BMW Group, I would like to congratulate our champion Jan-Lennard Struff on an outstanding performance, his first title at the BMW Open, and winning the all-electric BMW i5 M60. I am sure that he you will have a lot of fun with this innovative 5 Series. Game, set, match, joy. We now look forward to shaping the future of the BMW Open in the ATP 500 category, along with our long-term partners."

The BMW Open also enjoyed a first in the grandstands this year. For the first time, all nine days of the iconic tournament at MTTC Iphitos in Munich were sold out. Over the course of the week, a record crowd of more than 50,000 visitors defied the unsettled weather, created the unique atmosphere at the BMW Open and enjoyed also world-class tennis from a top-drawer field: among those with their sights set on winning the title at Aumeisterweg were Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev (GER), last year's winner Holger Rune (NOR), former US Open champion Dominic Thiem (AUT) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN).

In the end, Struff, who had already reached the final of the BMW Open in 2021 (losing 4-6, 6-7 to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili), deservedly triumphed. Fritz couldn't withstand the pressure of the German's powerful game throughout the final. Similar was the fate of Rune in the semifinal against Struff. The world number twelve, who had won the BMW Open twice in a row and had not lost a match in Munich until then, had to accept defeat with a score of 2-6, 0-6.

"I'm thrilled that I finally made it, and it means a lot to me that I've won my first title in Germany. I can hardly wait for the next BMW Open, it's an incredible tournament," said Struff, who received the trophy from Markus Söder, Minister President of Bavaria. The Winner's Car BMW i5 M60 was presented from Bernhard Kuhnt on the Center Court. "That's a fantastic car," said the visibly impressed champion. "I'm just happy."

The champion can look forward to a powerful motor and sporty driving dynamics. The BMW i5 M60 offers the performance typical of a BMW M car - but in all-electric form. The new 5 Series saloon also underlines its sophisticated character with innovative digital services, including for in-car gaming, audio and video streaming, and particularly high-quality driver assistance systems.

Tournament Director Patrik Hühnen had checked out and collected the Winner's Car himself at the production site - the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing - on behalf of the 2024 BMW Open champion.

Like the Winner's Car, the shuttle fleet, which BMW operated during the tournament, was also all-electric. It comprised the fully-electric BMW i7, BMW i5 and BMW i5 Touring, BMW iX, BMW iX1 and BMW iX2 models.

Struff narrowly missed out on the BMW Open double. The doubles competition was won by Yuki Bhambri (IND) and Albano Olivetti (FRA) after an exciting final, with a score of 7-6; 7-6 against Struff and Andreas Mies (GER). The Allianz Para Trophy, which was held as part of the BMW Open and featured a top-class field, was won by Martín de la Puente. The 24-year-old Spaniard defeated Gordon Reid (SCO) 2:6; 7:5; 7:6 in the final. Frederic Cattaneo/Stephane Houdet (FRA) won the doubles, defeating Anthony Dittmar/Christoph Wilke (GER) 4:0; 4:2 in the final.

BMW i5 M60 xDrive:

Power consumption combined in WLTP cycle: 21.2 - 18.2 kWh/100 km

Electric range in WLTP cycle: 439 - 516 km

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(C) 2024 M2 COMMUNICATIONS, source M2 PressWIRE