Munich, Germany , 21 April 2023 | Tennis Australia / AAP

Munich, Germany

Chris O’Connell is celebrating the biggest win of his career after overcoming world No.16 and local favourite Alexander Zverev at the BMW Open in Munich.

The Australian maintained composure from start to finish of the straight-sets encounter, claiming his 7-6(2) 6-4 victory over the No.3 seed in just under two hours.

O’Connell had to do it the hard way, beating a German idol, Olympic champion and two-time ATP Finals champion Zverev in front of his home fans.

2nd Top-20 win 🙌

Christopher O'Connell battles past Alexander Zverev 7-6(2) 6-4 in Munich. #BMWOpenbyAmex pic.twitter.com/D7pZB1RkXr

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 20, 2023

While it was a second top-20 scalp for the Sydneysider, who eliminated then world No.13 Diego Schwartzman at Australian Open 2022, he described victory over Zverev in Germany as even more significant.

“Yeah, for sure,” beamed O’Connell, after being asked on court whether it was the biggest win in his six years as a pro.

“It’s definitely hard playing Zverev here in front of his home crowd.”

The 28-year-old Sydneysider overcame difficult conditions in a wintery Munich.

“I’m definitely not prepared to play in this weather,” O’Connell added. “This is the coldest I’ve ever played in, it was tough! Took me a while to get warmed up.”

But the Australian did so emphatically, recovering from dropped service games in each set to set up a quarterfinal with Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli.

Aussie serving up a shock? 🇦🇺

O'Connell securing the opener against Zverev 7-6(2).

@BMWOpen23| #bmwopenbyamex pic.twitter.com/P0Eg7tU0uq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 20, 2023

O’Connell also contested a second-round doubles match alongside Frenchman Albano Olivetti, with the pair exiting to Dutch-Austrian duo Robin Haase and Phlipp Oswald.

Aussies in action – Munich

RESULTS
Men’s singles, second round
Christopher O’Connell (AUS) d [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) 7-6(2) 6-4

Men’s doubles, second round

Robin Haase (NED)/Philipp Oswald (AUT) d Christopher O’Connell (AUS)/Albano Olivetti (FRA) 6-4 7-5

COMING UP
Men’s singles, quarterfinals
Christopher O’Connell (AUS) v [Q] Flavio Cobolli (ITA)

Barcelona, Spain

Alex de Minaur advanced to the final eight at the Barcelona after Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov withdrew through illness before their third-round encounter.

It sets a tough assignment against No.2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who holds an 8-0 match-winning record against the Australian.

De Minaur, based for part of the season in Spain, has enjoyed strong results in Barcelona – in 2022, he advanced to the semifinals and extended eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to three sets.

RESULTS
Men’s singles third round
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [11] Grigor Dimitrov w/o

COMING UP
Men’s singles, quarterfinals
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [2] Stefanos Tsitsipas

Men’s doubles quarterfinals
Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Matt Ebden (AUS) v Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) /Eduoard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

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