TORONTO — In an exciting showdown, top-seeded Alexander Zverev from Germany was leading 6-4, 1-0 against 14th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo when Cerundolo had to retire due to an abdominal injury on Saturday night during the National Bank Open.
Zverev now advances to the quarterfinals where he will take on the defending champion, Alexei Popyrin from Australia. Popyrin, who is seeded 18th, triumphed over fifth-seeded Holger Rune from Denmark with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first match of the evening.
As the 2017 champion and currently ranked third in the world, Zverev emerges as the top seed with some of the biggest names, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner, the 2023 champion, and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, opting out of this hard-court event, wrapping up on Thursday. Notably, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the competition.
Zverev added to his accolades with a victory on clay in Munich this past April, clinching his 24th tour title.
In other action, Alex Michelsen made his way into the quarterfinals by defeating fellow American Learner Tien with a score of 6-3, 6-3. He is set to face the 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, who secured a 6-4, 7-5 win against eighth-seeded Casper Ruud from Norway.
