There may have been plenty of matches scheduled on Wednesday, but enough doubt around the majority of them meant a single selection was made.
Rafael Jodar came through some tough moments to earn his straight sets win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli for the second time in this clay court season and Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing from the Barcelona tournament means all eyes will be on the other young Spaniard who is now beginning to make headlines.
He will have to wait until Friday before the Quarter Final matches begin, but Thursday is all about completing the Second Round matches across the various tournaments being played this week.
Once again a number of matches have come close to being selected, but ultimately have not quite convinced enough and that means going with two selections from the ATP Munich event.
Francisco Cerundolo - 3.5 games v Botic van de Zandschlup: The move into the clay court season means there is limited samples of how players are performing, but some are more comfortable on the red dirt compared with others.
The World Number 19 Francisco Cerundolo is one of the more comfortable clay courters and tends to take in the South American Golden Swing in between the Australian Open and the big hard court events in North America in March. That was the case again in 2026 and Cerundolo does win plenty of matches on the clay, which is a solid reason behind his overall World Ranking mark.
A title has been won on the surface earlier this year, but Francisco Cerundolo suffered a relatively early loss in the opening tournament played on the European clay courts.
A comfortable win in the First Round against a Lucky Loser has taken Francisco Cerundolo through to this Round and he is the right favourite in this match.
You have to have respect for the early clay court form shown by Botic van de Zandschlup who reached the Semi Final in Budapest and who has another win under his belt here in Munich. However, it should also be noted that the 30 year old has yet to face anyone Ranked higher than World Number 60 on the surface and his numbers in recent years suggest the current level is unlikely to be sustained through the two big Masters events coming up before the French Open.
This is a player that has been pretty reliant on his serve, but that cannot be the case on the clay courts and that is where Francisco Cerundolo should have the edge.
He has won the two previous meetings between the players and both on the hard courts in 2025.
Francisco Cerundolo did not drop a set in either of those two matches and his confidence on the red dirt should make sure he is in a position to move into the Quarter Final behind another strong win against this opponent.
Alexander Zverev - 4.5 games v Gabriel Diallo: The most consistent Grand Slam success produced by Alexander Zverev has been at the French Open and he was leading Carlos Alcaraz in the Final of that Slam two years ago before eventually being beaten in five sets.
There is no doubt that Alexander Zverev will be heading to Paris as one of the favourites, although at the same time most would have Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner significantly shorter prices in the outright markets.
Yet another defeat to the new World Number 1 at the Monte Carlo Masters underlines the challenges that face Alexander Zverev when it comes to finally winning a Grand Slam. The feeling remains that the window has closed barring unexpected defeats for the top two players in the world, but Zverev cannot think like that and the Semi Final run in Monte Carlo is a reminder of his qualities.
Alexander Zverev is expected to have too much for Gabriel Diallo in this Second Round contest in Munich, especially as the World Number 37 has had limited success on the surface.
He took advantage of a Lucky Loser spot to enter the main draw at the Madrid Masters in 2025 and Gabriel Diallo reached the Quarter Final at that ATP 1000 event. However, Diallo will have to accept that he was given a pretty kind draw and the Canadian was just 3-5 on the clay court outside of that run in Madrid.
Opening defeats in Bucharest and Monte Carlo will have done little for the confidence and Gabriel Diallo beat a Qualifier Ranked outside the top 200 in the First Round here in Munich.
Suffice to say that this Second Round match is a significant step upwards and Gabriel Diallo was well beaten by Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open back in January. That was a First Round match played on a surface that would suit Diallo more than the clay courts here in Munich and it may be a tough ask to stick with the top Seed in this ATP 500 tournament.
MY PICKS: Francisco Cerundolo - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Alexander Zverev - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 1-0, + 0.91 Units (1 Unit Staked, + 91% Yield)
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