Australia’s Alexei Popyrin stays on observe for back-to-back Canadian Open titles after combating his technique to a three-set win over fifth seed Holger Rune.
For the second match in a row in Toronto, 18th-seeded Popyrin needed to claw his approach again after dropping the primary set, beating the proficient Dane 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
It was simply the second profession assembly between the pair and squared the ledger at one apiece, Rune having gained their solely earlier encounter in a troublesome three-setter on clay on the 2023 Rome Masters.
Popyrin, the defending champion in Canada, is trying to proceed his spectacular run at this event, his victory over Rune his ninth consecutive win on the occasion.
The Australian additionally recovered from the lack of the primary set of his third-round match to attain a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over former world primary and 2021 US Open and Canadian Open champ Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
Popyrin has his sights set on back-to-back Canadian Open titles after thrashing Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in final 12 months’s ultimate.
Within the quarter-finals, Popyrin faces top-seeded Alexander Zverev, who superior after the quantity 14 seed Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, was pressured to retire with an stomach harm, with the German main 6-4, 1-0.
Zverev, the 2017 Canadian Open champion who’s ranked third on the planet, ended up the highest seed in Toronto after the world’s top-ranked gamers Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz skipped the occasion.
One other Australian, ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur, performs his round-of-16 conflict towards American Frances Tiafoe on Monday (AEST).
De Minaur got here to Canada in impeccable type, having gained final week’s Washington Open, his tenth profession title.
The fleet-footed Aussie shall be hoping to proceed his dazzling latest type on the 12 months’s ultimate main, the US Open, which begins in New York on August 24.
De Minaur has twice reached the quarter-finals on the hard-court occasion at Flushing Meadows, firstly in 2021, then repeating that effort final 12 months.
In different outcomes, Alex Michelsen reached the quarter-finals after toppling fellow American Learner Tien 6-3, 6-3.
Michelsen subsequent faces Eleventh-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud.
AAP
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