Before starting his run at the 2026 BMW Open, Ben Shelton had expressed that he wanted to attend FC Bayern Munich’s match against Real Madrid. Recently, his wish was granted when he attended a Bayern Munich match alongside Flavio Cobolli.
Last year, at the ATP 500 clay-court tournament in Munich, Shelton reached the final and finished as the runner-up to Alexander Zverev.
Ben Shelton and Flavio Cobolli Attend FC Bayern Munich’s Match Against Real Madrid Amid BMW Open Run
Seeded second at the 2026 BMW Open, Shelton began his campaign by defeating lucky loser Emilio Nava (7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3) in the first round. He then overcame Wild Card Alexander Blockx (6-4, 7-6(8)) in the second round.
Before starting his campaign at the ATP 500 clay court tournament, while speaking to the press, the former World No. 5 expressed his desire to attend a FC Bayern Munich match this year, after having attended one in 2025. He revealed that he hopes to see them play against Real Madrid.
“There are a lot of sports fans in the city. We went to a Bayern Munich football game last year, which was a lot of fun. I want to try to do it on Wednesday as well when they have their second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal. I hope it works out,” Shelton said.
Recently, Shelton’s wish came true when he attended the match alongside Cobolli, in which Bayern Munich triumphed 4-3. He shared a video on social media of himself and Cobolli at the Allianz Arena during the game.
Shelton and Cobolli have advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 BMW Open. The former world No. 5 will face João Fonseca, while Cobolli will play against Vít Kopřiva. This will be the first meeting between Shelton and Fonseca, as well as Cobolli and Kopřiva, on the ATP Tour.
Fonseca reached the quarterfinals by defeating Alejandro Tabilo (7-6(1), 6-3) in the first round and eliminating seventh seed Arthur Rinderknech (6-3, 6-2) in the second round. Meanwhile, Kopřiva secured his spot in the last eight by overcoming Wild Card Justin Engel (6-3, 5-7, 6-2) and sixth seed Luciano Darderi (2-6, 6-4, 6-1) in the first two rounds, respectively.
The winner of the quarterfinal match between Shelton and Fonseca will advance to face either Denis Shapovalov, Daniel Altmaier, Fábián Marozsán, or qualifier Alex Molčan in the semifinals. On the other hand, the winner of the match between Cobolli and Kopřiva will compete against either defending champion and top seed Zverev, fifth seed Francisco Cerúndolo, Gabriel Diallo, or Botic van de Zandschulp in the final four match.
