Aug 4, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Alexander Zverev (GER) reacts after winning his match against Alexei Popyrin (not pictured) during quarterfinals at Sobeys Stadium.

tennis

Alexander Zverev Silences Heckler After Knocking Out Defending Champ Alexei Popyrin at National Bank Open 2025

German superstar is bidding for his first Masters-1000 title of 2025.

Aug 4, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Alexander Zverev (GER) reacts after winning his match against Alexei Popyrin (not pictured) during quarterfinals at Sobeys Stadium.

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev had to take an adventurous route to the finish line on Monday night, as he ultimately beat reigning Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin in the quarterfinals. After dropping the opening set, ‘Sascha’ managed to wave goodbye to a rogue heckler who disrupted play, and eventually won 6-7(8) 6-4 6-3. He awaits Karen Khachanov in the final four stage, in a rematch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics final.

Zverev also had openings in the first set, before giving up two set points to lose the tiebreaker. A pick-up volley from the Aussie clipped the net and went over, meaning that Zverev had no chance at contending for the opener anymore. In the next two sets however, the 28-year-old German raced ahead to a 3-0 lead and stayed consistent to remain on course for victory. The top seed won 82% first serve points, and won 16 of his last 17 points on serve.

“I had to tell myself [that] even though I lost the first set, I thought we were both playing actually quite well,” said Zverev after advancing to the semis. “I made one or two mistakes in the end [of the tiebreak], and I was very unlucky with the net cord on set point. But all in all, I thought it was a high level and if I continue playing that way, I’m going to get my chances – and that’s what I did.”

Canadian Open Heckler Sent Out as Frustrated Zverev Prevails

👋 BYE BYE

Alexander Zverev's celebration after his victory over Popyrin, after a spectator shouted twice on his serve 🥶pic.twitter.com/OSWNmNz7O0
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) August 5, 2025

It was a battle between two former winners of the National Bank Open on Monday. By virtue of his massive win, the German snapped Popyrin’s nine match winning run on Canadian soil. The 25-year-old World No. 26 had already beaten the likes of Medvedev and Rune en route to the QFs, but failed to overcome the Zverev hurdle. The three-time Grand Slam finalist improved his head-to-head against Popyrin to 4-0 in the process.

At the end of the decider, Zverev was disrupted by someone making noise in the crowd as he was getting ready to serve. At the time, the 2025 Australian Open runner-up was serving for the match. Despite being asked to remain silent, the heckler interrupted play yet again – this time during Zverev’s ball toss. As the individual was taken out of Centre Court at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, Zverev eventually closed out the match against Popyrin and waved goodbye to the heckler.

155 – Alexander Zverev has claimed a 155th career match win at ATP Masters 1000 events, equalling Grigor Dimitrov (155) for the most of any player born since 1990. Generation.#NBO25 | @NBOtoronto @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/A9Nn70MEx7
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 5, 2025

Alexander Zverev is now into his 75th tour-level semifinal, and trails only Novak Djokovic (196) among active players. Can the ATP powerhouse go all the way in Toronto this year, and capture his 25th career championship? Let’s wait and watch.

(Image Credits: John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images)

Alexander Zverev

Alexei Popyrin

ATP

Betting

Karen Khachanov

National Bank Open

Tennis

US Open

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.