After the conclusion of his Monte-Carlo Masters campaign, Alexander Zverev will get his first and only title defence of the season underway at the Munich Open.
During a largely disappointing season, the German managed to clinch a tour-level crown in 2025.
Zverev won the Munich Open last year with just one set dropped, which came in his quarterfinal meeting with Tallon Griekspoor.
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He overcame Ben Shelton in the championship match to secure his first trophy of the season, and 24th overall.
Ahead of his title defence, Zverev has been handed some promising news with the draw being made.
Alexander Zverev’s promising draw at the 2026 Munich Open
Zverev is seeded first at this year’s edition of the Munich Open, and is on the opposite side of the draw to the man he beat in the 2025 final, Shelton.
The withdrawals of Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda and Jakub Mensik boosted Zverev’s chances of going back-to-back, and now a successful title defence looks even more likely following the draw.
All the heavy hitters are in Shelton’s half of the draw, with the American receiving a difficult path to the final.
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Joao Fonseca, Alexander Bublik and Stefanos Tsitsipas are all placed in the bottom half, as well as the likes of Marin Cilic, Denis Shapovalov and Hubert Hurkacz.
Meanwhile, Zverev will take on Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, followed by either Gabriel Diallo or a qualifier.
Potential banana skins in Zverev’s section include Flavio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi, however the world number three leads both of them in the head-to-head.
Alexander Zverev’s lopsided head-to-head with Ben Shelton
Though Shelton’s route is a tricky one, the expectation is that he and Zverev will fight for the title again this year in the final.
Arguably, Zverev will hope this is the case, considering the lopsided head-to-head between the two on the ATP Tour.
Zverev leads Shelton 5-0 at ATP Tour-level competitions, with four of the victories coming last season.
After he won their maiden clash at the Cincinnati Open in 2024, Zverev beat Shelton in the Munich final last year, and again at the Stuttgart Open later on.
At the 2025 Cincinnati Open, Zverev dominated Shelton 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, before making it five in a row at the ATP Finals.
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