Zverev falls in Montreal opener against Griekspoor

The match began according to plan for Zverev. In the first set he did not concede anything on his own serve and confidently won the tiebreak 7:3. But the momentum already shifted in the second set. Griekspoor raised his return percentage, took his chances more consistently, and broke Zverev's serve early. The Dutchman deservedly leveled the match at 6:2.

Verlauf des Matches

The decisive third set developed into an open exchange of shots, which Griekspoor handled more consistently in the key moments. At 4:5, Zverev had to serve again, but lost his service game and thus the match. The three-set defeat underlines the current form slump of the Hamburger, who had recently failed to produce consistent results at the hard-court preparation events.

Even before the tournament in Montreal, Zverev had emphasized how important the coming weeks were for his confidence. The dress rehearsal before the last Grand Slam tournament of the year has thus thoroughly failed. Zverev leaves Canada without any match practice at Grand Slam level and has only a few days left to find his form for New York.

Blick auf die US Open

Attention now turns to the second half of August, when the US Open begin in Flushing Meadows. Zverev reached the semifinals there last year and is again counted among the co-favorites this year. Whether the disappointment from Montreal can be turned into motivation will already be shown in the first round against his opening opponent.

Meanwhile, other players are benefiting from Zverev's elimination. Matteo Arnaldi from Italy and Fabian Marozsan from Hungary advanced to the next round and kept their chances of reaching the quarterfinals alive. The draw in Montreal had already produced several surprises beforehand, so the field is considered particularly balanced overall.

Konkurrenz im Turnier

The appearance of Jannik Sinner is also being eagerly awaited; he had started the tournament as the second top favorite. Sinner had recently impressed at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon and is regarded by many experts as Zverev's main rival in the battle for the top position in men's tennis.

From a German perspective, there remains only the hope for a conciliatory end to the North American hard-court season. Until the start of the US Open on 31 August, Zverev still has time to work on his serve and his movement.