Alexander Zverev has secured his place in the semifinals of the National Bank Open.
In an impressive feat, he triumphed over the defending champion.
The top seed at the Canadian men’s tennis championship showcased his skills by overcoming No. 18 Alexei Popyrin from Australia with a score of 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 on Monday night at Sobeys Stadium.
Ranked third in the ATP Tour, the German athlete is set to face either No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov from Russia or No. 26 Alex Michelsen from the United States on Wednesday.
Khachanov and Michelsen competed in the late quarterfinal at York University amidst the hazy northwest Toronto atmosphere.
On Tuesday, the NBO schedule is headlined by two American stars.
Second-seeded Taylor Fritz will square off against No. 6 Andrey Rublev from Russia, while No. 4 Ben Shelton is set to clash with No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia. Both semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, leading up to Thursday’s championship match.
Popyrin edged out a thrilling first set in a tiebreak when a delicate backhand grazed the net and fell perfectly in place, thrilling his fans, including one waving an inflatable yellow kangaroo.
In response, Zverev shot a ball out of the stadium in a moment of frustration.
Aiming for his 25th tournament title and eighth ATP 1000 Masters victory, he quickly took a 2-0 lead in the second set.
Popyrin managed a break of his own before holding at 4-4. Zverev, who claimed the Canadian title in Montreal eight years ago against his boyhood hero Roger Federer, regained momentum to take a 5-4 lead and broke Popyrin again to level the match.
Knocked out in the quarterfinals last year, Zverev secured another break to take an early 2-0 lead in the final set before serving out the match with confidence.
The 28-year-old, who faced world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in this year’s Australian Open final and reached the quarters at the French Open, improved to a flawless 4-0 against Popyrin, including a victory at the Paris Olympics third round.
Zverev has already notched two tournament wins on clay this year and stands as the top-ranked player in a Toronto field missing notable stars such as Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 5 Jack Draper, and No. 6 Novak Djokovic, all of whom opted out of the lucrative US$9.19-million hardcourt event.
Ranked No. 26 in the world, Popyrin celebrated his third tournament victory in Montreal last year by defeating Rublev, yet his impressive nine-match winning streak in Canada came to an unexpected halt on Monday.
