Alexander Zverev names the shot he was struggling with against Matteo Arnaldi in Toronto which he found ‘strange’

Alexander Zverev names the shot he was struggling with against Matteo Arnaldi in Toronto which he found ‘strange’

Alexander Zverev reached a career milestone after reaching the fourth round of the Canadian Open.

The German entered the Masters 1000 event as top seed following the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner.

Zverev is determined to have a strong campaign in Toronto following a shock first-round exit at Wimbledon.

The 28-year-old was a set down in his third round encounter, but he dug deep and reversed the deficit to register a special win in his career.

Alexander Zverev hits a backhand against Matteo Arnaldi at the 2025 National Bank Open
Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Alexander Zverev says his backhand was ‘off’ at the Canadian Open which he found ‘strange’

Alexander Zverev faced Matteo Arnaldi for a spot in the fourth round at the Canadian Open.

The Italian made a bright start by taking the opening set on a tiebreak, but Zverev soon found his range.

He lost just five games over the course of the next two sets to triumph 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 in just under three hours of play.

While Zverev was pleased with the victory, he was concerned with his usually reliable backhand early in the match.

“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 post-match.

“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.”

Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning a point against Matteo Arnaldi at the National Bank Open 2025
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis /Anadolu via Getty Images

Alexander Zverev is delighted to reach 500 ATP match wins

Zverev’s hard-fought victory over Arnaldi was the 500th ATP win of his career.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up has made history by becoming the first man born in 1990 or later to achieve this feat.

Commenting on the achievement, Zverev is not resting on his laurels as he targets more success on the ATP Tour.

“It’s a great achievement. There’s not a lot of players that reached that milestone,” Zverev shared. “Of course I still want 500 more hopefully to come, and maybe even more!

“When you start your career, you wish to play on Tour, you wish to have a successful career, win as many matches as possible. I think 500 is definitely a milestone, and I’m happy about that.”

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