Top-seeded Zverev beats defending champ Popyrin to reach semifinals in Toronto
Zverev, the 2017 tournament champion, will face either No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia or No. 26 Alex Michelsen of the U.S.
Zverev, a German who is ranked No. 3, advanced to his 75th ATP Tour semifinal. He is looking for his 25th tournament title and eighth in an ATP 1000 Masters tournament.
The other quarterfinals are Tuesday. Second-seeded Taylor Fritz will take on No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia, while No. 4 Ben Shelton is slated to meet No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia. Both semifinals go Wednesday ahead of Thursday's title match.
Popyrin took the first set when his gentle backhand volley after a long rally grazed the top of the net and dropped for the winning point — much to the delight of his fans, including one with an inflatable yellow kangaroo.
Zverev responded by immediately firing a ball completely out of Sobeys Stadium in frustration, but quickly regrouped to go up 2-0 in the second set.
Popyrin grabbed a break of his own before holding serve at 4-4. Zverev, who won the Canadian title in Montreal eight years ago when he defeated childhood idol Roger Federer, took a 5-4 lead and then again broke his opponent to even the match.
Ousted at the quarterfinal stage of last year's tournament, Zverev got another break to go up 2-0 in the third set before serving out the match.
The 28-year-old, who lost to top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the final at this year's Australian Open and made the French Open quarters, improved to 4-0 all-time against Popyrin, including a third-round victory at the Paris Olympics.
Zverev has two tournament wins on clay this year, and is the highest-ranked player competing in a Toronto field lacking some significant star power after Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic all skipped the hard-court event.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Taylor Fritz vs. Andrey Rublev odds, predictions: ATP Toronto picks, best bets Tuesday
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. It's been a strange season for Andrey Rublev. Once considered one of the most predictable and consistent players on the ATP Tour, Rublev's results have been all over the place in 2025. The Russian was bounced in Round 1 of the Australian Open, then won a title in Doha a few weeks later, and then lost in the first round in both legs of the Sunshine Double before putting together a wildly inconsistent clay-court season in Europe. It looked like Rublev found his game at Wimbledon, but he started the subsequent North American hard-court swing with two wins followed by consecutive losses. Things now seem to be pointing in the right direction for the World No. 11, as he's one win away from a trip to the semifinals at the Canadian Masters, where he finished as runner-up in 2024. ATP Toronto: Fritz vs. Rublev odds, predictions Player Odds Andrey Rublev +175 Taylor Fritz -225 Odds via bet365 While Rublev has been erratic throughout the season, it's hard to poke holes in Taylor Fritz's game right now. The American was taken to a third-set tiebreaker against Jiri Lehecka last round, but that was a serving clinic from both competitors, and nothing to be worried about from Fritz's POV. Taylor Fritz has won 18 of his last 21 matches. AP Overall, Fritz is 18-3 in his last 21 matches and has two trophies in that span. If he keeps this up, he'll be a trendy third choice to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open later this month. If Rublev has found his form, he has every chance of coming out ahead in this match. That said, we've seen the 27-year-old tease a resurgence plenty of times this season, only to watch him hit the skids. Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps Rublev is 2-8 against top-10 opponents over the last 52 weeks, and he's lost his last four encounters with Fritz on hard courts. There's a real chance that Fritz makes this look easy. The Play: Fritz -1.5 sets (+120, bet365) Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Aaron Boone challenges reeling Yankees to ‘get over' extended struggles
After a crushing loss Friday night, Aaron Boone noticed something a little off in his Yankees over the next two days in Miami. The Yankees looked lifeless in a shutout loss Saturday and then followed with a '1 of 162' level of memorable in a loss Sunday to complete the Marlins' three-game sweep. 'That loss kind of just being a little disheartening, and that's the part where we've got like, OK, screw that, get over yourself, this isn't feel-sorry-for-yourself time,' Boone said Tuesday on 'Talkin' Yanks.' While Boone often is criticized for going easy on his players, he challenged them Tuesday amid a four-game losing streak that featured another crippling loss Monday in an 8-5 walk-off defeat to the Rangers after struggling closer Devin Williams blew a one-run lead in the ninth. The Yankees (60-53) enter Tuesday just 1 1/2 games clear of a playoff berth, and could possibly leave Texas on the outside looking in if they get swept and Seattle wins one of its next two games. 4 Aaron Boone's Yankees are skidding. AP 'We need to get to that next level of, 'I don't care what's going on, I don't care if I've made a mistake, if I've done well in a game,' Boone said before Tuesday's game. 'This is about us and let's frickin' go,' and having that next level, I don't know about anger, you got to control your emotions in this game, but you gotta have that, make sure we have that fire going, especially when you're going through a stretch where you're losing some tough games and you've lost, and you've dug yourself a hole like, it's not woe is me, feel sorry for me, that burn has to be there and it's like, let's go. Let's go.' Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free Boone acknowledged that part of the Yankees' issues in Miami following Friday's defeat — which featured them holding 6-0, 9-4 and 12-10 leads as the new relievers failed — stemmed from the pitchers they faced. Eury Perez and Edward Cabrera shut them down, which led to a listless offense. And any team featuring a Dead Bats Society is not exactly going to look energized. Not helping things was Jazz Chisholm's awful base-running blunder Saturday on a pop-up, which seemed to halt even the little momentum the Yankees may have had. Monday's game featured a more inspired effort, with the Yankees grabbing a 3-0 early lead and rallying to take a 5-4 lead into the ninth, before Williams surrendered a game-tying homer in the ninth to Joc Pederson, who was hitting .126 entering the at-bat. 4 The Rangers won, 8-5, on a walk-off homer Monday night. AP 4 The Marlins celebrate a walk-off win last Friday. Getty Images Trade acquisition Jake Bird then had a disastrous outing for the second time in three appearances since being acquired, allowing a walk-off three-run homer to Josh Jung that earned him a demotion. 'Obviously, it's been terrible, but right now, it's like you got to get over that. No one feels bad for ya. The tough part about it, or frustrating part about it is, I know we have the people to get it done,' Boone said. 'Time is of the essence. We continue to dig a bigger hole for us. We still have time to go on our run, but that's just talk right now. We gotta go have it.' 4 Aaron Boone discussing the Yankees on Tuesday. @TalkinYanks/X While the Yankees try to get on the right path, Boone said he still believes this team, at its best, can be better than any he's managed in recent years. But there's a difference between what a perceived ceiling may be and what a team actually is in the win column. And these Yankees are now just seven games above .500. 'The difficult thing for me right now is, I really feel like we potentially have such a good team right now and we have not been able to put it together. And a big part of that is on me. I gotta help set the tone to put these guys in the position to realize their potential,' Boone said. 'I tell a lot of people privately, I'll tell you guys now, in a lot of ways I feel like potentially this is the best team we've had here over the last several years, but we got to put it together and go realize that potential because that's all it is right now, we lose these games, we got to go. I do absolutely believe that we have that run in us, especially with the personnel we have, but talk is cheap. This is just on paper right now, it has to happen.'
San Francisco Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Seattle Storm acquire All-Star guard Brittney Sykes in trade with Washington Mystics
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Storm acquired All-Star guard Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics on Tuesday for Alysha Clark, Zia Cooke and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft. Sykes averaged 15.4 points, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals for the Mystics this season to earn her first All-Star selection. She'll join a strong lineup that features Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor. Seattle (16-13) is currently in sixth place in the standings. Clark has played more than 300 games for the Storm in two stints with the team and helped the franchise win two WNBA championships in 2018 and 2020. This season she's averaging just 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds. Clark has been impactful off the court over the years in the city starting the organization's annual toy drive benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital. Cooke averaged just over 10 minutes a game this season and has shot a career-best 38.2% from behind the 3-point arc. She was the No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft by Los Angeles. She spent two seasons there before coming to Seattle. ___
