Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton are on a collision course for what would be a second consecutive head-to-head showdown in the Munich final. They first have to get past Flavio Cobolli and Alex Molcan, respectively.
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. (4) Flavio Cobolli
Zverev and Cobolli will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in the semifinals of the BMW Open on Saturday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone the German’s way — 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-1 at the 2025 French Open and 6-4, 7-6(6) a few weeks later on the grass courts of Halle.
Although Zverev is playing at home this week and is the defending champion, he has been far from convincing aside from a second-round rout of Gabriel Diallo. The world No. 3 scraped past Miomir Kecmanovic in a third-set tiebreaker and also beat Francisco Cerundolo in three sets. Meanwhile, Cobolli is one of the most mercurial players on tour. The 16th-ranked Italian will go on epic losing streaks, but his good stretches can feature top-10 tennis. He recently enjoyed one in Acapulco (champion) and has once again found his game in Munich with straight-set defeats of Diego Dedura, Zizou Bergs, and Vit Kopriva. It would be sizable upset, but Cobolli should have a real chance in this matchup.
Pick: Cobolli in 3
(Q) Alex Molcan vs. (2) Ben Shelton
Like Zverev, Shelton is also one win away from a return trip to the Munich final. It wasn’t easy to get back to the semis for the sixth-ranked American, as he opened with a 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 win over Emilio Nava, held off Alexander Blockx 6-4, 7-6(8), and then battled past Joao Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday.
Up next for Shelton is a first-ever meeting with Molcan, for whom it has been a dream week. The 166th-ranked Slovak qualified for the main draw and has since ousted Alexander Bublik, Daniel Altmaier, and Denis Shapovalov. Those are good wins, but all three of those opponents are guys who will generally give you a ton of free points. The old version of Shelton probably would have done the same — but not this one. Shelton obviously loves life in Munich and he usually fares well against fellow left-handers, so he should have a significant edge on Saturday.
Pick: Shelton in 2