Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev celebrated his 500th victory on the ATP tour at the Masters in Toronto.
The world ranking third, which is set in position one in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, defeated the Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6: 7 (5: 7), 6: 3, 6: 2 after initial problems. There the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, which was 14 in position 14, is waiting for the Hamburgers.
Zverev needed a total of 712 games for his 500 victories, only six players reached the milestone faster in the 21st century. “This is a great performance” and feels “special”, said the 28 -year -old: “Not many players reach this milestone. But I want 500 more – maybe even more,” he joked.
Third German after Boris Becker and Tommy Haas, he achieved 500 victories on the ATP tour in the open ERA.
Early breaks in the second and third set
Zverev lost the first sentence in the tie break. Then he found better into the game and won the next two rounds with early breaks. After 2:46 hours he converted his second match ball.
“I started playing better from the baseline and found my rhythm a little. My backhand didn’t feel quite right, but I was satisfied and happy with my level“, he said.
In addition to Zverev, who had conquered the Australian Adam Walton 7: 6 (8: 6), 6: 4 in the second round, after the defeat by Daniel Altmaier (Kempen) there is no further German in the Masters, which was endowed with $ 9.2 million. In the first round, the Tokyo Olympic champion had a free-wing.
Winner in Toronto 2017
The Masters in Canada is the start of Zverev’s preparation for the US Open in New York (from August 24). At the tournament, which will be held with the women in Toronto and Montreal, Zverev won the title in 2017, at that time in the final against Roger Federer (Switzerland).