Alexander Zverev races to third round in Montreal | ATP Tour

Alexander Zverev

Zverev races to third round in Montreal, Rublev improves

Germany won only two games against Thompson

August 08, 2024

Alexander Zverev wasted little time in earning a Tour-leading 48th of the season on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National presented par Rogers in Montreal, where he outlasted Australian Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round.

The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was competing on hard courts for the first time since his March semi-final run in Maimi but made quick adjustments to advance after 63 minutes.

Zverev dominated the service, winning 95 percent (18/19) of points after his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, while compiling a 20-8 winner’s error rate to avenge his final loss to Thompson. in Los Cabos earlier this year and tied their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.

The second-seeded German has fond memories in Montreal, beating Roger Federer in straight sets to win the title in 2017 at the age of 20.

Zverev will continue his quest this week at the ATP Masters 1000 event on hard court against 13th seed Holger Rune or Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The 27-year-old, who was honored in Rome earlier this year, is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. A deep run in Canada will improve his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, an event he has won twice (2018, 2021).

Seeds Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov also advanced. Rublev beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(3), 6-2, while Dimitrov beat Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-0.

Rublev won his second Masters 1000 title in Madrid earlier this year and has now equaled his best finish at a Canadian Masters 1000 event by reaching the third round. He will next play Brandon Nakashima.