MUNICH, April 14, 2026

Joao Fonseca enjoyed a successful debut at the BMW Open by Bitpanda as he claimed a first-round victory on a chilly Tuesday in Munich. With temperatures failing to rise above 10 degrees Celsius (50 °F) at the MTTC Iphitos, the conditions were far from ideal for South Americans, yet Fonseca set the tone early in the day by defeating Alejandro Tabilo in the opening match.

In the pair’s third tour meeting, Fonseca earned his first victory over the Chilean. Supported by many Brazilian fans on Center Court, the 19-year-old from Rio de Janeiro capitalized on three of his seven break-point chances to secure a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory in one hour and 33 minutes.

“I think that I haven’t played in that cold,” Fonseca said with a smile during his post-match on-court interview. “But it’s great to see so many Brazilian flags here. I am very thankful to be here. I hope they will all be back for the second round.”

Up next for Fonseca will be seventh-seeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

Zverev battles past Kecmanovic

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev started his title defence with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who had beaten the German earlier in the season in Acapulco. In front of his home crowd, Zverev was a set and a break up but had to fight hard as Kecmanovic improved the longer the match lasted. However, a solid tie-break in the final set helped the top seed close out the match with his 12th ace.

“I was serving poorly the entire match and gave him a lot of looks on my second serve,” Zverev said. “At some point he was playing like a wall, wasn’t missing. The temperatures today didn’t help to play an aggressive style of tennis. It was tough to hit a winner but, in the end, I won and that’s the most important thing.”

Zverev will next take on Gabriel Diallo of Canada.

“He is a massive server,” the three-time Munich champion said of his upcoming opponent. “We are at altitude, which helps the servers, but in these temperatures I don’t know. He had a great first round, which he won quite comfortably. I am expecting a tough match.”

Elsewhere, fourth-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli defeated German qualifier Diego Dedura, who earned his first tour-level main draw victory last year in Munich. The Italian won 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 26 minutes.

“It was a very good experience, even though it was a tough draw having to face the world No. 16 right away. But that’s the level here — this is an ATP 500 tournament, not kindergarten. Overall, I’m satisfied with my performance, and now I’m looking ahead to the coming weeks,” said Dedura, who will next compete in the qualifying of the ATP Masters in Madrid.

In the second round of the BMW Open by Bitpanda, Cobolli will face Belgian Zizou Bergs, who was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over German lucky loser Marko Topo.

Molcan masters Bublik

The upset of the day was delivered by world No. 166 Alex Molcan. The 28-year-old Slovakian qualifier knocked out No. 3 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-2. Molcan converted four of his nine break-point chances and won 59 per cent of the total points played to advance in one hour and five minutes.

The Slovak is BACK! 👏

Molcan defeats [3] Bublik 6-4, 6-2 for his first Top 20 triumph in three years!@BMWOpen500 | #BMWOpenbyBitpanda pic.twitter.com/shg5P2t1vB

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 14, 2026

“I am happy to be back at these kinds of tournaments. I always play better at this level than at Challenger events,” said the former top-40 player, who had to deal with injuries and underwent two surgeries in recent years.

“I lost my first set in the opening round of qualifying 6-0 when I was struggling with the conditions here, but then I just found myself, my game, and I improved match by match. Today I was focused during the whole match. I didn’t want to do anything extraordinary on the court. It was a good performance. I am healthy enough to play and just glad to be here. I just try to enjoy the game, and it works.”

Molcan will next play Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, who cruised past Croatian veteran Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-3 in 69 minutes.

Players enjoy their special night

Glitz, glamour and, of course, the stars of the BMW Open by Bitpanda — Monday evening’s Players Night at the Golden Racket Club by Käfer was a resounding success.

Spotted on the red carpet were top players of the tournament, including defending champion Alexander Zverev, American Ben Shelton, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Italy’s Flavio Cobolli. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas also made sure to attend the Players Night during his Munich debut. With great live music and plenty of good vibes, the celebrations continued late into the night.