The quarterfinal lineup in Munich includes two blockbuster battles on Friday, with top seeds Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton taking the court. Zverev goes up against Francisco Cerundolo; Shelton faces Joao Fonseca.
Joao Fonseca vs. (2) Ben Shelton
Get your popcorn ready for the first-ever meeting between Shelton and Fonseca, which will come in the quarterfinals of the BMW Open on Friday afternoon. It’s worthy of a final, of course, but it also could have come even earlier since Fonseca is unseeded. However, the 19-year-old won’t be unseeded at many tournaments for long. He is 35th in the rankings and could break back into the top 30 even if he loses to Shelton. Playing the most consistent tennis of his career right now, Fonseca has followed up a strong Sunshine Double with Munich victories over Alejandro Tabilo and Arthur Rinderknech.
Whereas the Brazilian cruised with ease, Shelton endured a much tougher path to the last eight. The sixth-ranked American opened with a 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 win over Emilio Nava before defeating Alexander Blockx 6-4, 7-6(8) on Wednesday. Shelton’s current form is less convincing and he has never been at his best on clay, so look for Fonseca’s momentum to continue.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. (5) Francisco Cerundolo
The head-to-head series between Zverev and Cerundolo stands at 4-3 in the German’s favor heading into Friday’s contest, but that hardly tells the current story. Since losing their first three encounters, Zverev has reeled off four victories in a row — all in convincing fashion. He is 9-0 in total sets against Cerundolo dating back to the 2025 Toronto Masters, most recently dominating 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 at the Australian Open and 6-1, 6-2 in Miami.
The top seed and defending champion survived a scare in the Munich first round (d. Miomir Kecmanovic in a third-set tiebreaker) but picked up the pace to crush Gabriel Diallo 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday. Cerundolo has advanced by ousting Sumit Nagal and Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets. Although Zverev has never defeated the 19th-ranked Argentine on clay, the surface really doesn’t give either player an advantage in this matchup — both are very good in any conditions. Zverev has owned the head-to-head of late and has home-court advantage, so count on the world No. 3 advancing without too much trouble.
Pick: Zverev in 2