Milestone for tennis ace
Zverev wins for the 500th time – and makes the audience laugh
Updated on 01.08.2025 – 3:18 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Zverev has completed 712 games in his career – a special victory also secures him to enter the round of 16 at the Masters in Toronto. However, he doesn’t like the next opponent.
Alexander Zverev reached an important milestone in Toronto. The Olympic champion won a match on the ATP tour for the 500th time and moved into the round of 16 at the Masters tournament. The German number one had to fight back after a weak first set.
Zverev defeated Matteo Arnaldi after 2:46 hours with 5: 7 (5: 7), 6: 3, 6: 2. “This is a great success. There are not many players who have reached this milestone. Of course I want 500 more victories or more,” said Zverev after the game in Canada. Zverev also made a short laugh in between with the audience: he caught a tennis ball with his pocket (see video below).
The Hamburg, on number one, meets Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina in the round of 16. So far, Zverev has not won any of the three previous duels against number 24 in the world rankings.
Zverev initially started promising Arnaldi, already led 4: 2 and had chances for another break. But the Italian turned up, while Zverev rose the error rate – especially on the back side. The world ranking third defended three set balls, but lost the first round in the tie -break.
“I played better from the baseline, the longer the match went. My backhand felt strange, that doesn’t happen often,” said Zverev afterwards. “After that I felt more comfortable and was satisfied with my level.”
In the second set, Zverev quickly found his rhythm back and equalized. Even in the third round, the 27-year-old did not let the opportunities awarded. At 1: 1 he left three break options unused, but the match was increasingly dominated. In the end, he clearly secured the victory.