Munich
Zverev scraps, then turns to tweener in Munich en route to Kecmanovic revenge
Fonseca sinks Tabilo, seeds Cobolli and Darderi advance
April 14, 2026
BMW Open
Alexander Zverev in action against Miomir Kecmanovic on Tuesday in Munich.
By Andy West
Alexander Zverev dug deep to hold off a fierce Miomir Kecmanovic comeback on Tuesday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich, where he sprinkled a late piece of tweener magic on his 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) first-round victory.
Competing as the top seed and defending champion at the clay ATP 500, Zverev kept his composure after Kecmanovic rallied from a set and break down to push the match distance. The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Zverev raised his level impressively in the deciding-set tie-break, when he produced some of his best tennis of the match including a stunning reaction tweener volley at 4/1 after Kecmanovic clipped the net with a backhand.
The ultimate improvisation 🤯🆙@AlexZverev bringing out the hotshot for his home crowd!@BMWOpen500 | #BMWOpenbyBitpanda pic.twitter.com/wOZcnz9kkG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 14, 2026
“It was a tie-break, so it wasn’t like a show-off shot. It was actually the only way I could have hit it,” Zverev said. “Luckily for me it worked out. I’m not somebody that has a lot of ‘highlights’, I feel like, so definitely one today.”
Zverev, who is this week chasing a record fourth Munich title, won 85 per cent (11/13) of points at the net against Kecmanovic, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. With his two-hour, 19-minute triumph, the German avenged his defeat to Kecmanovic in Acpaulco in February.
“I was really serving poorly the entire match, so I gave him a lot of looks on second serves,” Zverev said. “At some point he was playing like a wall, he wasn’t missing. Obviously today the temperatures don’t help an aggressive style of tennis. It’s tough to hit a winner, but in the end I won and that’s the most important thing.”
Awaiting Zverev in the second round as he bids for his first ATP Tour crown of 2026 will be Gabriel Diallo. Zverev won the pair’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting earlier this year at the Australian Open.
Joao Fonseca also tasted victory early on a chilly Bavarian Tuesday afternoon. The #NextGenATP Brazilian marked his Munich debut with a 7-6(1), 6-3 win against Alejandro Tabilo. The 19-year-old Fonseca, a quarter-finalist in Monte-Carlo last week, will meet seventh seed Arthur Rinderknech for a quarter-final spot.
Italian stars Flavio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi also advanced to the second round in Munich. Fourth seed Cobolli downed home #NextGenATP hope Diego Dedura 6-4, 7-5 to set a second-round encounter with Zizou Bergs or Marko Topo. Sixth seed Darderi overcame Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1 and will next play Vit Kopriva, who defeated Justin Engel 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
