Bengaluru — German tennis star Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to beat defending champion Alexei Popyrin 6-7(8) 6-4 6-3 in Toronto and move into the semifinals of the Canadian Open on Monday.
Top seed Zverev was unable to convert two set points in a tight first set, but built up 3-0 leads in the second and third sets to clinch the win in 2hr 42min.
The victory took the German’s head-to-head record against Australian Popyrin to 4-0 and sent him to his 75th semifinal on the ATP Tour, joining Novak Djokovic as the only active men’s tennis player to have reached the mark.
“I had to tell myself, even though I lost the first set, I thought we were both playing well,” Zverev, who won the Canadian Open in 2017, said.
“I had to find a return position in the beginning because he’s a big server, and when he gets into a rhythm, it’s difficult against him. I did that in the second and third set. I can’t complain about much. I played one loose game on my serve in the second set, but apart from that, it was good.”
Zverev next faces Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat Alex Michelsen of the US 6-4 7-6(3).
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko stormed into the semifinals of the women’s tournament in Montreal with a 6-4 6-2 win over Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to continue her fairy-tale run.
The 18-year-old, ranked 85th in the world, found herself a break down early in the second set, but won six straight games to become the first Canadian to reach the semifinals of the Canadian Open since 2019.
“I’m so excited to be in the semifinal here,” she said.
“I want to thank everyone for your support once again. It has been unreal,” said Mboko, who beat No 1 seed Coco Gauff on Saturday and is set to enter the top 50.
Mboko next takes on Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who was leading 6-1 2-1 when her opponent, Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, was forced to retire from their quarterfinal match due to a wrist injury.
Rybakina will meet Mboko for the second time in as many weeks, with the ninth-seeded Kazakh winning 6-3 7-5 when the pair faced off in the Washington Open in July.
• Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open for the second consecutive year, tournament organisers confirmed to US media on Monday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has opted out of the US Open warm-up tournament after consecutive semifinal exits at the French Open and Wimbledon, where he was defeated on both occasions by world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic also withdrew from Cincinnati in 2024 as defending champion, not long after his triumph in the singles event at the Paris Olympics.
The US Open will take place from August 24 to September 7 in New York City.
Reuters
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