Zverev's Montreal Campaign Ends Early

Alexander Zverev, who entered the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal as top seed with a first-round bye, suffered an unexpected defeat in the second round against the Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor. Playing his first match since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, the German star fell 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 to an opponent ranked 69th in the world who had won just one of his previous eight tour-level matches heading into the tournament.

Griekspoor produced a remarkably effective display at the net, winning 17 of 18 net points and striking 20 winners off the forehand. After leading 4-2 in the deciding set before being pegged back to 4-4, the Dutchman kept his composure, broke Zverev's serve once more, and closed out the match on his first match point after two hours and 33 minutes. Securing his third career win over Zverev, Griekspoor called the victory one of the most special of his career.

Zverev's exit was just one part of a wider wave of upsets in Montreal. On the same day, Taylor Fritz suffered a straight-sets loss to Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante in his first match since winning the title in Washington, while world No. 4 Daniil Medvedev was also eliminated, falling to fellow Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. With these results, no player from the Top 5 will feature in the round of 16 of a Masters 1000 event for only the second time since Rome in 1991.

Image: Asharq Al Awsat