TORONTO — In a thrilling third round of the National Bank Open, top-seed Alexander Zverev from Germany triumphed over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi with a score of 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, marking his milestone of 500 career victories.
The 28-year-old Zverev, who clinched the championship in 2017, becomes the first ATP Tour player born in 1990 or later to achieve this impressive feat. Earlier this year, he celebrated his 24th tour title on clay in Munich.
“I felt my baseline game improve as the match progressed,” Zverev remarked. “Initially, my backhand was off, which is unusual for me. Once I regained that shot, I felt much more at ease and pleased with my performance.”
Currently ranked third in the world, Zverev stands out as the top seed in the absence of elite players like world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, both of whom are skipping the hard-court tournament that has a week to go. Other notable withdrawals include No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic.
Zverev is set to face off against No. 14 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, who secured his spot with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
In other matchups, up-and-coming American Alex Michelsen caused an upset, defeating third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti from Italy with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Michelsen will meet fellow American Learner Tien, who prevailed 7-6 (3), 6-3 against Reilly Opelka.
Fifth-seeded Holger Rune from Denmark advanced through a night match, besting Alexandre Muller of France 6-2, 6-4. Rune will clash with the winner of the late match between 10th-seeded Daniil Medvedev from Russia and Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway secured his advancement by defeating Nuno Borges of Portugal 7-5, 6-4, setting the stage for a matchup against 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov, who overcame Emilio Nava of the United States with a score of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1.
