Zverev shakes off recent funk to beat Muller in Munich / Photo: Alexandra BEIER - AFP
-
Home hero Wu wows Shanghai crowds by charging to China Open win
-
Less Soviet, more inspiring: Kyrgyzstan seeks new anthem
-
Defending champion Kyren Wilson crashes out in first round of World Snooker Championship
-
NASA's oldest active astronaut returns to Earth on 70th birthday
-
Exec linked to Bangkok building collapse arrested
-
Zelensky says Russian attacks ongoing despite Putin's Easter truce
-
Vaibhav Suryavanshi: the 14-year-old whose IPL dream came true
-
Six drowning deaths as huge waves hit Australian coast
-
Ukrainian soldiers' lovers kept waiting as war drags on
-
T'Wolves dominate Lakers, Nuggets edge Clippers as NBA playoffs start
-
Taxes on super rich and tech giants stall under Trump
-
Star Wars series 'Andor' back for final season
-
Neighbours improvise first aid for wounded in besieged Sudan city
-
Tariffs could lift Boeing and Airbus plane prices even higher
-
Analysts warn US could be handing chip market to China
-
Unbeaten Miami edge Columbus in front of big MLS crowd in Cleveland
-
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
-
'Pandora's box': alarm bells in Indonesia over rising military role
-
Alaalatoa hails 'hustling hard' Brumbies for rare Super Rugby clean sheet
-
Trio share lead at tight LA Championship
-
Sampdoria fighting relegation disaster as old heroes ride into town
-
Recovering pope expected to delight crowds at Easter Sunday mass
-
Nuggets edge Clippers in NBA playoff overtime thriller, Knicks and Pacers win
-
Force skipper clueless about extra-time rules in pulsating Super Rugby draw
-
DEA MARIJUANA SCAM: As DEA Cannabis Program Implodes This 4/20, MMJ Stands Alone in Pursuit of Real Medicine
-
Nuggets edge Clippers in NBA playoff overtime thriller, Pacers thump Bucks
-
Unbeaten Miami edge Columbus in front of big crowd in Cleveland
-
Kim takes one-shot lead over Thomas, Novak at RBC Heritage
-
Another round of anti-Trump protests hits US cities
-
'So grateful' - Dodgers star Ohtani and wife welcome first child
-
PSG maintain unbeaten Ligue 1 record, Marseille back up to second
-
US, Iran report progress in nuclear talks, will meet again
-
US Supreme Court intervenes to block Trump deportations
-
Hamas armed wing says fate of US-Israeli captive unknown
-
Pacers thump Bucks to open NBA playoffs
-
Sabalenka reaches Stuttgart semis as Ostapenko extends Swiatek mastery
-
Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Putin's Easter truce but claims violations
-
'Fuming' Watkins fires Villa in bid to prove Emery wrong
-
DR Congo boat fire toll revised down to 33
-
England thrash Scotland to set up France Grand Slam showdown
-
Verstappen's Red Bull 'comes alive' to claim record pole in Jeddah
-
McTominay fires Napoli level with Inter as Conte fuels exit rumours
-
Rajasthan unleash Suryavanshi, 14, as youngest IPL player but lose thriller
-
Man City boost top five bid, Aston Villa thrash in-form Newcastle
-
Villa rout Newcastle to rekindle bid to reach Champions League
-
Dumornay gives Lyon lead over Arsenal in Women's Champions League semis
-
Trans rights supporters rally in London, Edinburgh after landmark ruling
-
'We have to wait': Barca's Flick on Lewandowski injury fear
-
Bordeaux-Begles backups edge Pau to close in on Top 14 summit
-
Trans rights supporters rally outside in London, Edinburgh after landmark ruling
Zverev shakes off recent funk to beat Muller in Munich
World number three Alexander Zverev got his clay court season back on track with a 6-4, 6-1 over Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round of the ATP event in Munich on Monday.
The German came into the Munich tournament having lost his opener at last week's Monte Carlo Masters to Italian Matteo Berrettini, missing the chance to bump Jannik Sinner from the world the No 1 position.
Instead, that defeat and the Carlos Alcaraz's victory in the final on Sunday saw Zverev dropping down a place in the rankings and dented his preparations ahead of next month's French Open.
Zverev broke his opponent in the first game but Muller broke back at 3-3 before Zverev recovered to win the set in 47 minutes.
The number one seed found his rhythm in the second, breaking his opponent three times.
The 27-year-old completed victory in one hour and 20 minutes.
Clay-court specialist Zverev has played six tournaments since losing the Australian Open final in three sets to Sinner in January, but has not made it past the quarter-finals at any.
Since winning back-to-back titles in Munich in 2017 and 2018, Zverev has not made it past the final eight.
He will face either countryman Daniel Altmaier or Taiwan's Tseng Chun-hsin in the quarter-finals.
Earlier on Monday, world number 15 Ben Shelton endured a stuttering start to the tournament, coming from a set down to beat world number 410 Borna Gojo 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7-3).
Shelton, seeded second in Munich, fought off three match points, winning both of his sets via tiebreak in two hours and 24 minutes.
Defending champion Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat American Taylor Fritz in the final last season, opens his campaign against Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.
A.Ruiz--AT