Cobolli stuns defending champion Zverev to reach first Munich final

Flavio Cobolli, the No 4 seed, defeated defending champion Alexander Zverev, the top seed, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of the BMW Open by Bitpanda on Saturday afternoon in Munich.

The Italian, ranked No 16, had never beaten Zverev in two previous meetings – both won by the German in straight sets – and arrived as a heavy underdog. He did not drop a set across the week, having beaten Czech Vit Kopriva, Belgian Zizou Bergs and German Diego Dedura on his way to the semi-finals.

Zverev, ranked No 3, was chasing a record fourth Munich title, having won the tournament in 2017, 2018 and 2025. He had shown vulnerability in earlier rounds — dropping the first set to both Miomir Kecmanovic and Francisco Cerundolo — and could not find his best level against a Cobolli in full control on his favoured surface.

Cobolli’s best result of the season before this week was his title in Acapulco, where he beat Frances Tiafoe in the final.

Cobolli will face the winner of the second semi-final between American Ben Shelton, the No 2 seed, and Slovak qualifier Alex Molcan in Sunday’s final.