Alexander Zverev's projected path to Canadian Open 2025 final

Alexander Zverev was the Canadian Open champion in 2017.

Alexander Zverev has a good opportunity to forget the setbacks of the 2025 season when he arrives in Toronto. The German will have a chance to reprise his 2017 title run at the Canadian Open.

The ATP 1000 event will be without Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jack Draper, who have withdrawn citing injuries and the need to avoid burnout. Zverev, the top seed, is joined by defending champions Alexei Popyrin and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles draw.

The 28-year-old is not having the best season, with his sole title coming at Munich in April. Zverev made the finals in Stuttgart, where he lost to Taylor Fritz. He followed it up with a last-four appearance in Halle, but lost to Daniil Medvedev in three sets.  

The absence of the top contenders could serve as tailwinds for the German, and he will fancy his chances of making a deep run at the Canadian Open. His projected path to the final, however, is a challenging one. He will have to hit the ground running if he is to add the Canadian Open title to his resume. 

Alexander Zverev’s projected path-

Round 2 – Benjamin Bonzi

As the tournament’s top seed, Zverev will enter his second round match against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi as the favourite. The 69th-ranked Bonzi is due to make his debut at the ATP 500-level event. The unseeded Bonzi’s claim to fame is winning the Moselle Open on home turf in 2024. 

Round 3 – Joao Fonseca

Zverev could face off against the talented Joao Fonseca in an intriguing third-round encounter. The 18-year-old secured his maiden ATP title at Buenos Aires. Fonseca also made the third round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the ongoing season.

Fonseca, who won the ATP NextGen Finals in 2024, broke into the ATP Top 50 following Wimbledon and is currently ranked at a career-high No. 47. The young Brazilian is also comfortable on hard courts, which could work in his favour.

Round 4 – Francisco Cerundolo

Zverev will be on the back foot as he heads into a potential fourth-round meeting with Cerundolo. The German trailed Cerundolo 3-0 in their head-to-head and came up short in their recent meeting at the Madrid Masters back in April. It was Zverev’s second loss to the Argentine after their semi-final match in Buenos Aires. 

However, Zverev has a chance to turn the tables on Cerundolo in Washington. All of the Argentine’s previous wins against Zverev have come on clay, and his hard-court numbers are less than convincing, especially when seen in comparison with Zverev. 

Quarter-finals – Holger Rune / Alexei Popyrin

Should Zverev run into Popyrin in the last eight, it will be a contest between the current and former champions. It is one where Zverev leads 3-0. The German top seed has won each of those contests in straight sets. Since winning the Canada Masters in 2024, Popyrin’s fortunes have taken a downturn.

The 25-year-old Aussie has just made two quarter-final appearances at Monte-Carlo (April 2025) and Geneva (May 2025) since his title run in Canada a year ago.

The fifth seed, Holger Rune, is also projected as Zverev’s quarter-final opponent. Rune, who is making a comeback from injury, will have to contend with a 3-1 deficit against the German.

Rune, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Barcelona Open, withdrew from the competition due to back pain. The Dane was spotted being mentored by Andre Agassi on the eve of the Washington Open shortly before his injury-related withdrawal.

Semi-finals – Lorenzo Musetti / Denis Shapovalov

Zverev may cross paths with Musetti or Shapovalov should the top seed make the last four. Both Musetti and Shapovalov are currently in a rich vein of form and have what it takes to subdue the German. The top seed’s recent struggles on tour could come back to haunt him against the two in-form players.

Lorenzo Musetti reached the last four at Roland Garros and beat Zverev in straight sets in their previous encounter on the clay courts of Rome. Shapovalov recently returned to the winner’s circle at Los Cabos and will be yearning for revenge from when they last met in Madrid last year.

Of the two, Musetti is more of a dangerous proposition as he owns a 3-1 head-to-head lead against Zverev.

Finals – Ben Shelton / Taylor Fritz

A meeting with Taylor Fritz in the finals would be far from ideal for Zverev. The American has got the better of him five times in a row, beginning with the fourth round of Wimbledon 2024, and recently at the finals of the Stuttgart Open in the German’s backyard. Fritz stretched his lead over Zverev to 8-5 after the result in Stuttgart. 

Zverev could end up facing Ben Shelton in the title round, which would be the preferable option for the German. Zverev has a 3-0 advantage over Shelton, with two of the three wins coming in 2025.

In Shelton’s defence, the 22-year-old American made Zverev work hard for his win, pushing the match to tie-breaks in both sets in the semi-finals at Stuttgart. 

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram