TORONTO — In an exhilarating opening match at the National Bank Open on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s top seed, managed to overcome Adam Walton with a scoreline of 7-6 (6), 6-4. This marked Zverev’s return to competitive tennis following his appearance at Wimbledon.
After an impressive start to the year, reaching the Australian Open final, Zverev has been striving to find his rhythm again. His unexpected exit in the first round at Wimbledon against Arthur Rinderknech left him reflecting on his mental struggles. “I’m trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way,” the German player admitted.
Despite being ranked third in the world, Zverev claimed the top seed spot in the tournament following the withdrawal of other leading players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. He showcased his tenacity by winning a remarkable 52-shot rally in the tiebreaker, eventually securing a set point. “It was a very important moment and a very important point for me,” Zverev commented. “I was lucky to get through in the first set and then finish it off in two.”
The tournament also saw other notable performances. Third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti defeated Australian qualifier James Duckworth with a score of 7-5, 6-1. Meanwhile, No. 5 Holger Rune emerged victorious over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win during the sweltering afternoon.
Seeded players in the Masters 1000 event, including No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic, were granted a first-round bye, yet both eventually had to pull out of the competition. In another series of matches, No. 8 seed Casper Ruud, No. 10 Daniil Medvedev, No. 11 Karen Khachanov, No. 14 Francisco Cerundolo, and the defending champion No. 18 Alexei Popyrin all secured victories. An upset occurred when Reilly Opelka triumphed over the 16th-seeded Tomas Machac in an intense three-set battle.