Zverev Streaks Past Kyrgios, Into QFs

Nick Kyrgios might have gotten the better of Alexander Zverev back in March, twice beating the #NextGenATP German at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. But on Thursday evening at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal, Zverev put himself on the board in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

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The right-hander continued his red-hot run during the North American swing, winning his seventh consecutive match on the blue hard courts, dating back to his Citi Open title last week in Washington, D.C. Zverev beat Kyrgios 6-4, 6-3 in 73 minutes to move into the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event in Canada.

“I’m happy to be through. Obviously against him, it’s not easy because he’s one of the biggest servers that we have. He plays with not a lot of rhythm,” Zverev said. 

Zverev has now reached the quarter-finals or better at four Masters 1000 tournaments this season, including the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where he won his maiden Masters 1000 title. He’ll try to get a step closer to his second Masters 1000 crown on Friday when he faces South African Kevin Anderson, who beat Sam Querrey of the U.S. 6-4, 6-1 in 59 minutes.

Anderson avenged his Round of 16 Wimbledon loss to Querrey from earlier this year. Against Zverev, he’ll again try to avenge a loss from this season. The 6’6” German beat Anderson in the Citi Open final on Sunday.

“The momentum is definitely with me. But I’m playing Anderson tomorrow… He’s played a lot of matches. He’s playing very, very well. It’s going to be another interesting one,” Zverev said. 

Kyrgios was in prime form when he beat Zverev in March, reaching the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the semi-finals in Miami. But the Aussie has struggled with shoulder and hip injuries of late. Zverev, meanwhile, has only ascended the Emirates ATP Rankings since their earlier FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. He arrived in Montreal at a career-high No. 8, and was focused throughout their third-round match in Canada.

Zverev broke in the third game to lead 2-1 and fended off six break points in the opener, including four while serving at 3-2, to take a one-set lead. Kyrgios held to start the second set, but Zverev broke in the fifth game and never lost his serve. For the match, Zverev erased all eight break points.