Match Report
Zverev reaches Munich QFs, sets another clay clash with Cerundolo
Molcan advances to biggest quarter-final in four years
April 16, 2026
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Alexander Zverev reaches his 113th tour-level quarter-final on Thursday in Munich.
By Sam Jacot
Alexander Zverev overcame Gabriel Diallo 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda to set a quarter-final clash against Francisco Cerundolo in Munich, where the World No. 3 will seek revenge.
Cerundolo holds a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Zverev in clay-court matches, having beaten the German on the surface twice in Madrid and in Buenos Aires. Zverev leads the H2H 4-3 overall.
However, Zverev will head into their latest meeting off the back of a comfortable win against Canadian Diallo, who received treatment for a back issue at the end of the first set. Zverev raced through the opener and then was handed a break of serve in the sixth game of the second set when Diallo misfired a routine forehand long.
“I think he had some issues with the back and was not serving fully in the second set,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “But I am happy with the win and happy to get an easier match today.”
Zverev is into his 113th tour-level quarter-final, which is the fourth-most among active players. Stan Wawrinka is fifth on 112. The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is a three-time champion in Munich and is chasing his first title since he triumphed at the ATP 500 clay-court event 12 months ago.
Zverev spent his Wednesday night cheering on his football team Bayern Munich to a quarter-final win against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Some of Bayern Munich’s stars were courtside to watch Zverev on Thursday.
“It is great for the stars to come out,” Zverev said. “Amazing for them to get the win at home and I was there watching. It was very, very special. I took the kids down to the locker room after and they were very nice to the kids, signing autographs.”
Fifth seed Cerundolo thrashed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0 to become the third player this year to earn 10 clay-court wins, joining Tomas Martin Etcheverry (13) and Alejandro Tabilo (10). The Argentine won the title in Buenos Aires in February.
In other action, Alex Molcan advanced to his first ATP 500 quarter-final since 2022, when he reached the semi-finals in Hamburg. The Slovakian overcame Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 7-6(10) and fended off three set points in the second set, including one at 5/6, when Altmaier missed a short forehand into the net.
Molcan reached a career-high No. 38 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2022, but dropped outside the Top 600 last May. The 28-year-old is up 42 spots to No. 124 in the Live Rankings and will next meet Denis Shapovalov or Fabian Marozsan, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round.
