Alexander Zverev eased into the quarter-finals of the Munich Open with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Gabriel Diallo on Thursday, teeing up a meeting with fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Zverev, who is chasing a fourth title in Munich and a second in a row, needed just 74 minutes to dispatch his Canadian opponent in a showcase of his clay-court dominance. 

A break in the opening game set the tone as Zverev assumed control, with two more following by the end of a 35-minute first set, which saw the German win 81% of his first-serve points compared to just 47% for Diallo.

The world number three had to wait until the sixth game to break in the second, but he then did so in back-to-back games while only giving up three points on his own serve throughout the set.

The clear favourite for the Munich title, Zverev will now take on Cerundolo on Friday, with either Flavio Cobolli or Vit Kopriva awaiting the victor in the last four.

Cerundolo defeated Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-3 6-0 earlier on Thursday, and on the other side of the draw, Alex Molcan overcame home favourite Daniel Altmaier 6-4 7-6 (12-10).

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open by beating Lorenzo Sonego 6-2 6-3, with that draw opening up following the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz.

Data Debrief: Zverev becomes a 2020s clay-court centurion 

Zverev's victory made him the third player on the ATP Tour to reach 100 wins on clay this decade (since the start of 2020), after Casper Ruud (132) and Carlos Alcaraz (108).

His 22 victories at the Munich Open, meanwhile, are the second-most in the competition in the Open Era, after Philipp Kohlschreiber (35).