Popyrin power proves potent as Aussie ace prevails
Defending champ Popyrin, the 18th seed in Toronto, fought back after losing the first set to beat 10th-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev 5-7 6-4 6-4 on Thursday (local time).
It was a superb win for the Australian against the former world No.1 and 2021 US Open and Canadian Open champion in the lead-up to the year's final major on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Popyrin's victory set up a fourth-round clash with fifth seed Holger Rune on Saturday after the Dane advanced by beating Frenchman Alexandre Muller.
On the same day, Alex de Minaur will take on Christopher O'Connell in the third round in an all-Australian encounter.
De Minaur is looking to back up his success from Washington, where he picked up his 10th career title.
Earlier on Thursday, top-seeded German Alexander Zverev beat Italy's Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 to reach 500 match victories.
The 28-year-old Zverev - the 2017 champion - is the first ATP Tour player born in 1990 or later to win 500 matches. He won on clay in Munich in April for his 24th tour title.
"I think I started playing better from the baseline. The longer the match went on, I started to find my rhythm a bit," Zverev said.
"It was actually my backhand that was feeling a bit off in the beginning, which is strange, doesn't happen very often.
"But after I found that shot, I was comfortable and I was happy about the level."
Ranked third in the world, Zverev ended up the top seed in Toronto with No.1 Jannik Sinner and No.2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the hard-court event. No.5 Jack Draper and No.6 Novak Djokovic are also absent.
Zverev advanced to face No.14 seed Francisco Cerundolo, a 6-3 6-4 winner over fellow Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Earlier, Alex Michelsen upset third-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to set up a clash with fellow American Learner Tien, a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 winner over countryman Reilly Opelka.
Eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway topped Portugal's Nuno Borges 7-5 6-4 to set up a match with 11th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat American Emilio Nava in three sets.
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