Alexei Popyrin vs. Alexander Zverev: Where to Watch, ATP Toronto Preview

Will the Aussie's "good vibes" in Canada push him through to another big win?

Published Aug 04, 2025

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Alexander Zverev vs. Alexei Popyrin: Match Preview

Popryin, the defending champ at the National Bank Open, says he has “no idea” why he has won nine straight matches in Canada dating back to 2024. No idea why his form, which has been so-so for most of 2025, has returned now that he’s up north again.

“I think it’s just good vibes, good feelings from last year maybe,” the 25-year-old Australian said after he came back to beat No. 5 seed Holger Rune in three sets on Saturday night.

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HIGHLIGHTS: Alexei Popyrin continues Canada momentum with Rune upset | Toronto 4R

In the weeks leading up to the tournament, Popyrin says he began to feel the pressure to defend his 1000 points from last year’s win. Once he got to Toronto, though, he made peace with the possibility that he wouldn’t succeed, and that helped him loosen up.

“It’s nice to come in here and kind of accept the fact that if you lose you don’t save the 1,000 points,” Popyrin says. “It’s just a nice feeling to just play free, and that’s what I feel I’ve been doing this week.”

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Popyrin has certainly shown more bedrock self-confidence than usual. Against Rune and Daniil Medvedev, two higher-ranked opponents, he dropped the first set, before gritting out the next two. Judging by his 15-16 record on the year, that’s a surprise. But it really shouldn’t be, because Popyrin, when he’s on, has one of the best serve-forehand combinations in tennis.

He’ll likely need to be on against Zverev. The top seed is coming off a seemingly refreshing stint at the Rafa Nadal Academy after Wimbledon. More worrying for Popyrin, though, is their head-to-head: Zverev leads 3-0, and hasn’t dropped a set in any of those matches.

Still, two of those meetings were before 2020, and Popyrin has made more strides than Zverev in the years since. He has also been making the most of his looks at the right times in Toronto; he should get more of them against the defensive-minded German. Winner: Popyrin