MUNICH: German fourth seed Jan-Lennard Struff broke through for his debut ATP singles title in his 218th tournament on Sunday, beating American third seed Taylor Fritz in the final in Munich.
The 33-year-old Struff won in straight sets, beating Fritz 7-5, 6-3 in the rain in the Bavarian capital.
Fritz, ranked 15th in the world, 13 places higher than the German, already had seven titles to his name before Sunday’s match.
The local favourite, left to fly the German flag after first seed Alexander Zverev was eliminated in the quarter finals by Chilean Cristian Garin, won in 79 minutes on the Munich clay.
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“It’s unbelievable, I’ve been waiting for this for so long. I’m 33 years old,” the breathless Struff said a few moments after his triumph.
“I’ve been here for so long, now I’ve finally done it.”
Struff played his first ATP tour match 11 years ago and has won four doubles titles, but had never lifted a singles crown.
“Unbelievable – and to do it on home soil is just incredible. I waited so long,” Struff said.
“I’ve been playing so long on tour so it’s just an amazing feeling to do it here in Germany.”
In addition to a cash prize, winners of the BMW-sponsored tournament take home a car worth around 100,000 euros ($107,000) and a pair of traditional Bavarian lederhosen.
The rain would not let up during the final, with spectators including German World Cup winner Thomas Mueller watching huddled under umbrellas.
The fourth seed qualified for Sunday’s final by beating second seed Holger Rune – the winner of the past two Munich tournaments – in just 45 minutes.
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