MUNICH, April 17, 2025
Francisco Cerundolo headlined Thursday’s second-round action at the BMW Open by bitpanda. The No. 5 seed of the ATP 500 event defeated Kazakh lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2 to become the first player to reach six quarterfinals this season.
Cerundolo sent down five aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to advance in dominant fashion, in one hour and 22 minutes.
Sealed with an Ace ⚡@FranCerundolo is a man in form as he beats Shevchenko 6-3 6-2 taking his total games lost in Munich to 7 #BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/XErPnxfhXr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 17, 2025
“I won in straight sets, but I didn’t feel my best today,” the World No. 22 from Argentina stated afterwards. “I didn’t really feel the ball and couldn’t control it, but I found a way how to compete and played better towards the end. Overall, it was nice to play in front of a lot of people here on the court today.”
Cerundolo is making his debut at the BMW Open by bitpanda this year. Did he pick Munich over Barcelona to avoid another meeting with Carlos Alcaraz?
“No,” the 26-year-old Buenos Aires native responded with a smile. “We had a couple of tough matches recently and I lost to him in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo. But I am very happy to be here in Munich.”
Earlier this season, Cerundolo started a coaching partnership with former Top 20-star Pablo Cuevas, who is with him at the MTTC Iphitos this week.
“I am trying to be a more complete player, putting a bit more variety into my shots. I didn’t serve well today. I started kicking in first serves because I wanted to make them. You have to find solutions and today I think I did that.
“It’s a good start into the season and it gives you some confidence. I play better this year compared to the previous ones. The cooperation with Pablo works really well and I am happy that he is part of my team. It was the goal to improve my game, and it works out quite well.”
Cerundolo will next take on Belgian veteran David Goffin, who has reached his first ATP Tour quarterfinal on clay since lifting the trophy at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco in 2022. The 34-year-old outlasted Argentine Mariano Navone 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 in two hours and 14 minutes.
“It will be tough against him. He is a player with a lot of experience,” said Cerundolo, commenting about his upcoming task on Friday. The pair will meet for the first time.
Bergs halts Dedura’s run
Later in the day, Zizou Bergs ended the run of German lucky loser Diego Dedura. The 25-year-old Belgian showed some flawless tennis in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Center Court, hitting 24 winners and breaking the teenager’s serve five times to succeed 6-1, 6-1 in 69 minutes.
Zizou zooms through ⏩
Bergs gets the better of Dedura- Palomero 6-1 6-1 to reach his second clay court Quarter-Final #BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/8tOo7onBoR
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 17, 2025
“It’s quite nice to make these steps this year, improving the things we are working on,” said Bergs.
“It’s never easy to play against these young guys, as you don’t know what to expect. Despite the scoreline I still had to find solutions and had to stay aggressive in the match. It’s a good thing to be efficient. That’s what I have done pretty good this year, no matter how I am feeling. I just try to play the right game”
Dedura made headlines earlier in the week in Munich by becoming the first 2008-born player to compete in an ATP Tour event. The 17-year-old from Berlin defeated 29th-ranked Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the first round and has already moved up to World No. 373 in the Live Rankings.
“Stands were really packed today. I couldn’t even see my father,” said Dedura, who explained that he will only use the first of his two last names and drop the Palomero name for the tennis tour. “My nickname will remain ‘DDP’ but I think two names are sufficient and makes it easier for the umpires. Dedura is the name of my mother and I guess the whole family from Lithuania is happy about this decision.”
In his sixth and biggest ATP Tour quarterfinal, Bergs will oppose Fabian Marozsan of Hungary, who was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over fourth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The encounter lasted one hour and 23 minutes.
Allianz Para Trophy gets underway
Meanwhile, the Allianz Para Trophy has kicked off. The tournament is part of the official ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour for the second straight year. The highly attractive field is led by Alfie Hewett from Great Britain, who won his opening match on Thursday 6-1, 6-3 against Frenchman Nicolas Charrier.
“Munich is a shining example for other tournaments: it means a lot to us to play in front of so many spectators. We need a platform like this, not only to showcase the sport but also to inspire young people,” the 32-time Grand Slam champion said.
Mischa Zverev, tournament director of the Allianz Para Trophy for the third consecutive year, is also excited about the event. “I am looking forward to awesome tennis, great players, great personalities, lots of entertaining points, athleticism and hopefully a lot of people will enjoy this sport. I think it’s fascinating,” he said.
