Defending champion Alexei Popyrin advances to the National Bank Open quarterfinals

By Canadian Press on August 2, 2025.

TORONTO (AP) — Defending champion Alexei Popyrin of Australia beat fifth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarterfinals.

Popyrin, seeded 18th, will face the winner of the late match between top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany and No. 14 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.

Zverev, ranked third in the world, ended up the top seed with top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner — and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the hard-court event that ends Thursday. No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic also sat out.

Alex Michelsen reached the quarterfinals in the afternoon, topping fellow American Learner Tien 6-3, 6-3. Michelsen will face 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press