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In scenes similar to 2022, Holger Rune was unable to drive off in his new luxury BMW, won after his successful title defense at the BMW Open in Munich.
Rune overcame physical issues and four championship points to down Botic van de Zandschulp in the final in Munich. The Dane was trailing 2-5, 40-15 as van de Zandschulp served for the title when he mounted a thrilling comeback to win, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3). The World No. 7 became the first ATP player to successfully defend their title in 2023.
As part of the prize pool for the tournament sponsored by German automaker BMW, Holger Rune was gifted a new luxury BMW I4 electric car for his victory. However, just like in 2022, Rune was unable to drive the victory lap himself due to his lack of a driver's license and had to be driven again by German supermodel Lena Gercke.
Prior to the tournament, the 19-year-old had admitted that the time-consuming process of acquiring a driver's license had deterred him from attempting to do so yet.
“I still haven’t got my driver’s license. It’s on my list but it’s very time consuming," Rune said in an interview with Bild.
He revealed that his prize car from 2022 was being used as a family car mostly with his father driving.
“The winning car from last year has become our family car now. Mostly my father drives them," he added.
"It was a struggle and I managed to get it done" - Holger Rune on Munich triumph
Holger Rune suffered an issue with his right arm and a twisted ankle during the BMW Open final against Botic van de Zandschulp.
In his post-match interview, the 19-year-old admitted to feeling "awful" after undergoing a struggle to secure his fourth tour-level title.
"I'm not fine. I feel awful. And I said, it is what it is when you're in this situation, you know, it's the last match, it's the last push. So, I tried to find a way that could help me a little bit to not be as hurt. But again, it was a struggle and, you know, I managed to get it done," he said.
Competing at the Madrid Open next, Holger Rune will be the sixth seed at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Following a bye in the first round, Rune will take on the winner of the match between Alexander Bublik and Daniel Elahi Galan.
