Munich
Shelton digs out of Munich hole, Cerundolo charges through
Rinderknech, Diallo also advance on Day 1 at ATP 500
April 13, 2026
BMW Open
Ben Shelton in action against Emilio Nava on Monday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda.
By Andy West
Ben Shelton escaped a perilous position to maintain his perfect record at ATP 500 events in 2026 on Monday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda.
The No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings rallied from a break down in the deciding set to overcome his fellow American Emilio Nava 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 in Munich. Shelton, returning to the event where he reached the biggest clay-court final of his career in 2025, kept his cool after dropping serve in the opening game of the decider to register a two-hour, six-minute victory.
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“It’s tough. Not just [playing against] another American, but probably my best friend out on Tour, or one of a few,” Shelton said. “His trajectory has been steep lately, so I’m happy to see the way he has been climbing. I know he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent today, so I feel bad about that. I hope he gets back to 100 per cent quickly, because he’s playing great on the clay.”
“He’s got a massive serve, similar to my first-round matchup [with Borna Gojo] last year, and it made things really difficult. He returned well down the stretch in the second set, broke me when it mattered, and he was clutch. So to get through that, I’m really happy. Starting my run here in Munich, it’s a special place for me, and I’m just excited to keep going.”
With his win, the 23-year-old Shelton improved to 6-0 at ATP 500 events this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, following his title run at February’s Nexo Dallas Open. The lefty has struggled since that triumph in Texas, going 2-3 across Indian Wells, Miami and Houston, but he will hope that returning to Munich’s Iphitos Tennis Club will inspire him to another deep run on the Bavarian clay.
Shelton fired 14 aces past Nava, who appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages of the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, to improve to 21-1 against players outside the Top 100 since 2024 Wimbledon. The four-time ATP Tour champion will aim to back up his victory against No. 112-ranked Nava in a second-round meeting with home favourite Yannick Hanfmann or wild card Alexander Blockx.
Fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo and seventh seed Arthur Rinderknech were among the early winners on Monday. Cerundolo eased past lucky loser Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 11-1 in opening-round matches since last October. Awaiting the World No. 19 in the second round will be two-time Munich finalist Botic van de Zandschulp, who overcame Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-6(7), 6-3.
Rinderknech defeated Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-3 to book his second-round spot. The Frenchman, who now leads Michelsen 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, will take on Joao Fonseca or Alejandro Tabilo for a quarter-final berth.
Gabriel Diallo also earned a straight-sets triumph to kick-start his Munich debut and set a second-round clash with top seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev. The Canadian downed qualifier Vitaliy Sachko 6-1, 6-2 to snap a three-match losing streak.
