Alexander Zverev's comeback ends Alexei Popyrin's Toronto title defence

Match Report

Zverev's comeback ends Popyrin's Toronto title defence

German becomes second active men's player to reach 75 tour-level SFs

Peter Power/Tennis Canada Alexander Zverev won the Canada title in 2017 at age 20. By Arthur Kapetanakis

Top seed Alexander Zverev ended Alexei Popyrin's title defence at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers with a patient comeback Monday evening at the ATP Masters 1000.

The German cut a frustrated figure after missing out on two set points in the opening tie-break but quickly recovered for a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3 victory in Toronto. Zverev raced out to 3-0 leads in the second and third sets and maintained a high level throughout the final set in a comfortable finish.

"I had to tell myself, even though I lost the first set, I thought we were both playing actually quite well," Zverev said after improving to 4-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. "I did one or two mistakes in the end [of the tie-break], and I was very unlucky with the net cord on set point. But all in all, I thought it was a high level, and if I continue playing that way, I'm going to get my chances — and that's what I did. I'm happy to be through in three sets."

Now into his 75th tour-level semi-final, Zverev joins Novak Djokovic (196) among the only two active men to reach that mark. By advancing to his 21st semi-final at the Masters 1000s, his first since last year's Rolex Paris Masters, Zverev moved ahead of Roddick for seventh-most in series history (since 1990).

In a battle of former Canada champions, 2017 Montreal champ Zverev ended the repeat bid of his opponent. Popyrin was a perfect 9-0 at the ATP Masters 1000 after his surprise title run last year in Montreal.

The Aussie snatched the opening set with a pickup volley that clipped the net and dribbled over, but his momentum was immediately halted by a professional effort from the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. While a late second-set wobble handed Popyrin his lone break of the match, Zverev reasserted his authority with a crucial five-game run from 4-4 in the middle set.

"I had to find a return position in the beginning because he's a very big server, and when he gets into a rhythm, it's very difficult against him," added Zverev. "I did that in the second and third set. Honestly, I can't complain about much. I played one loose game on my serve in the second set, but apart from that, it was pretty good."

Zverev won 82 per cent of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and claimed 16 of his last 17 points on serve. He closed out the match in style with a drop-volley winner and now awaits Karen Khachanov or Alex Michelsen in the semis.

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