Munich Open 2026: Flavio Cobolli Stuns Alexander Zverev, Sets Final Clash With Ben Shelton

Cobolli beats Zverev

Fourth seed Flavio Cobolli ended Alexander Zverev’s Munich Open title defense in straight sets and now faces second seed Ben Shelton in the final. 

Cobolli cruises past defending champion Zverev to set up Munich final with Shelton...

Flavio Cobolli ended top seed Alexander Zverev’s Munich Open title defense on Saturday as the Italian eased past the world number three in straight sets to secure his place in the final.

Fourth seed Cobolli beat the home favorite 6-3, 6-3 in just under 70 minutes in their semi-final clash.

The 23-year-old’s dominant display ended Zverev’s bid for a record fourth title on Munich’s red clay.

Raining winners ☔️😱

Check out this back-to-back brilliance from @cobollifla to lead [1] Zverev 6-3@BMWOpen500 | #BMWOpenbyBitpanda pic.twitter.com/TU4mUk9Mgo

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2026

Cobolli will face American second seed Ben Shelton after his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alex Molcan.

“One of my best matches ever against one of my biggest friends on tour,” Cobolli said.

“I'm a little bit shy when I play with a big player but today I played one of my best performances and I'm really happy.”

Third time's a charm 💪

Flawless @cobollifla defeats defending champion Zverev for the first time 🔜 Munich final!@BMWOpen500 | #BMWOpenbyBitpanda pic.twitter.com/szUM2RSgYd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2026

Cobolli pulled ahead of Zverev when he broke the German to love in the fourth game of the first set.

Zverev struggled to make any impact on Cobolli’s serve throughout the match, and when the world number 16 broke his opponent’s opening service game of the second set, Zverev’s fate was sealed.

Two punishing cross-court forehands, capped by a crisp volley to close out game seven, gave Cobolli a double break and the chance to serve for the match.

But Zverev answered immediately, earning his first break points of the contest and converting on his second chance to stop his opponent’s run.

A brilliant running forehand gave Cobolli match point in the next game, and when Zverev shanked a deep return, the match was over.

Cobolli moves on to his second final of the season, where he’ll look to add to the title he won in Acapulco in February.

Shelton will be the player standing in Cobolli’s way as the American looks to go one better than last year, when he lost the Munich title match to Zverev.

Second seed Shelton broke in the sixth game of the first set to move ahead against the 166th-ranked Slovakian, then grabbed a crucial second break to go up 5-4 in the final set.

The 23-year-old’s serve was on point as Molcan managed just one break point across both sets, which Shelton saved.