Holger Rune’s title defense at the 2024 BMW Open in Munich, Germany, came to a grinding halt in the semifinal as he was pummeled by local favorite Jan-Lennard Struff.

Holger Rune was seeded No. 2 at the ATP 250 tournament and faced Struff, the No. 4 seed, in the last four contest on April 20. The Dane had looked comfortable in his previous two matches in Munich against Daniel-Elahi Galan and Marc-Andrea Huesler, defeating both in straight sets.

However, Rune looked far from his best against Struff, who did not put a foot wrong and ousted the two-time defending champion from the tournament 6-2, 6-0 in just 45 minutes. Struff hit eight aces, won a whopping 95% of points on his first serve, and converted five out of seven breakpoints on Rune’s serve.

Jan-Lennard Struff’s victory was made even more impressive as this was his second match of the day. The German had bettered Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinal earlier on April 20 before trouncing Rune to book his second ATP tour final berth in Munich after 2021.

Tennis fans were stunned by Rune’s drubbing and joked that even his training sessions would be longer than the entire match. Some pointed out that many would have debated equal pay if a WTA semifinal had ended in 45 minutes like this one.

“And they want more money than women?” a fan joked.

“Not even his training session must be that short,” a fan said.

A fan tweeted, “45 freakin’ mins Can’t imagine the uproar ref “equal prize money & Bo5 sets” debate this woulda sparked had it happened in the WTA.”

Others quipped that the Dane did not want another BMW car, the reward for the tournament’s champion and hence threw in the towel. A fan even teased that Rune might turn to Patrick Mouratoglou’s “drug cabinet,” hinting at the French coach’s involvement in Simona Halep’s doping ban.

“Patrick Mouratoglou’s drugs cabinet looking real inviting right now…,” a fan wrote.

Another fan said, “Holger doesn’t want another car. He said one is enough. Humble king.”

On a serious note, fans urged Rune to focus on his own growth and ignore the noise around him. They also praised Struff for raising his level many times over to play the near-perfect match.

“Embarrassing performance. Rune is talented but he has to accept he’s not at the next level yet and put in the work. He should complain less and remain focused. His ego is derailing him from making the next big step,” a fan commented.

“Struff was hammering the ball. Hitting winners left and right. No chance for Holger,” a fan said.

“I mean Rune wasn’t good but Struff also went godmode. He was literally unplayable. Unbelievable level from him,” another fan stated.

Holger Rune’s return to ATP top 10 faces a blow after BMW Open exit

Holger Rune was bidding to return to the top-10 of the ATP Rankings at the BMW Open this week. He had exited the top echelons of the men’s tennis ranking after a quarterfinal loss at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week. The 20-year-old was defending finalist point at the Monte-Carlo Masters but failed to do so after being beaten by Jannik Sinner.

Rune dropped from the World No. 7 spot to World No. 12 after the Monte-Carlo Masters, and now, with a semifinal ousting in Munich, where he was defending 250 points, he will remain out of the top 10 for now. The Dane will stay at the World No. 12 spot with 3245 points.

The former World No. 4’s best performance on the 2024 ATP Tour has been a final at the Brisbane International and a semifinal at the Mexican Open. In addition, he reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo.