Toronto, July 30 || Top seed Alexander Zverev began his Canadian Open campaign by ousting Adam Walton 7-6(6), 6-4, during which the 28-year-old survived a lung-busting exchange to crucially earn set point in the opener.
After trailing 3/5 in the tie-break, Zverev seized momentum following that lengthy rally at 5/5 and found more rhythm from the baseline to advance. Zverev was broken when he served for the match at 5-3, yet quickly regrouped to close out the one-hour, 42-minute match the following game, ATP reports.
A seven-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, including a triumph in Canada in 2017, the No. 3 player in the ATP Rankings will continue his quest to add to that haul against 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi, who defeated Australian Tristan Schoolkate 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Zverev leads Arnaldi 1-0 in their ATP head-to-head series, with their lone meeting coming in Acapulco this year.
Eighth seed Casper Ruud, competing in just his second tournament since Roland Garros, raced past Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-3. The Norwegian next faces Nuno Borges, who rallied past Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2.
After withdrawing from his opener in Washington last week due to back pain, Holger Rune returned to claim a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory in Toronto, his first hard-court win since reaching the Indian Wells final in March. Mewnwhile, Daniil Medvedev overcame lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina 7-6(3), 6-4, but the 2021 champion is looking for more out of his game.