Top seed and home favourite Alexander Zverev cruised into the quarter-finals of the BMW Open with a commanding 6-4 6-1 win over Alexandre Muller on Monday.

Zverev – who suffered a humbling opening-round defeat to Mateo Berrettini in the Monte-Carlo Masters last week – got his clay-court season back on track with a positive display that saw him complete the win in just one hour and 20 minutes.

The German's defeat to Berrettini combined with Carlos Alcaraz's triumph in the final on Sunday saw Zverev drop down to third in the ATP rankings.

But he responded well, breaking in the first game before Muller managed to fight back at 3-3. Zverev managed to recover and close out the first set within 47 minutes.

The 27-year-old then found his groove in the second and rounded out the victory with three breaks.

Since losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner in January, Zverev has participated in six tournaments but has not progressed past the quarter-finals in any of them. His poor run culminated with that shock upset to Berrettini in Monte-Carlo.

Speaking after the match, Zverev expressed his determination to return to form after a sluggish stretch.

"Especially after the loss in Monte-Carlo and a few losses generally in the past few months, it was important to come out and have a performance like that," he said.

"I obviously want to get back to my best tennis and do really well in the tournaments coming up.

"I’m happy with my first-round win, and hopefully I can play better in my next few matches as well and continue building on this form."

Zverev won consecutive BMW Open titles in 2017 and 2018, though he has not made it past the final eight in any of the editions since.

Having now qualified for the quarter-finals once again, he will face his compatriot Daniel Altmaier, who beat Tseng Chun-Hsin.

Hat-trick hunt starts HERE 

2017-18 champion @alexzverev123  dismisses Muller 6-4 6-1@BMWOpen500 | #BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/kHkFycfv8Q

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 14, 2025

Earlier on Monday, Ben Shelton produced a performance for the ages, saving three match points to scrape past Borna Gojo 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3).

Shelton saved three match points, and nine of the 10 break points he faced.

At the Barcelona Open, meanwhile, there were wins for Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev.

Data debrief: Zverev hoping for home turf hat-trick

Zverev is in the hunt to equal Philipp Kohlschreiber as a record three-time champion at the BMW Open, having previously won the title in 2017 and 2018.

He currently holds a 16-8 record overall in the competition.

Zverev's title win over Guido Pella in 2017 was his first on clay, so he will be eager to get back to form at a tournament where he has positive memories.