Alexander Zverev of Germany achieved a new milestone at Canadian Open on Thursday night in Toronto. The world number three beat Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 to reach 500 ATP match victories in the third round of men’s singles.
The 28-year-old Zverev — the 2017 champion — is the first ATP Tour player born in 1990 or later to win 500 matches.
I think I started playing better from the baseline. The longer the match went on, I started to find my rhythm a bit,” Zverev said.
“It was actually my backhand that was feeling a bit off in the beginning, which is strange. Doesn’t happen very often. But after I found that shot, I was comfortable and I was happy about the level,” he added.
Alexander Zverev advanced to face No. 14 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The German entered the tournament as the top seed after World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz opted out of the tournament.
With the win he became just the fifth active man to record 500 victories, and the seventh fastest to have reached that milestone this century.
He is now placed in an elite list alongside Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka as the only active players to achieve that feat. At 28, Zverev is the youngest among them, with his nearest peer in age, Cilic, seven years his senior.
“It’s a great achievement,” Zverev, winner of 24 ATP titles. “Not a lot of player reach this milestone.
“But I still want 500 more — maybe even more,” he joked. “You always want to win as many matches as possible. I’m all about this.”
Alexander Zverev: The Path To Glory
Alexander Zverev’s journey hasn’t been as smooth as he would have wanted. He has been through ups and downs as he’s carved out a career that speaks of resilience.
The German took career-best six trophies in 2021, including a second triumph at the ATP Finals and he seemed to be nearing his peak. But in a high-octane Roland Garros semi-final with Rafael Nadal the following spring, Zverev injured his right ankle and there was an uncertainty on his comeback.
His semi-final appearance in Paris had propelled him to a career-high No. 2 in the ATP Rankings
Since his return in 2023, however, Zverev has increased his title tally to 24 and reached two more major finals, reasserting himself firmly near the top of the game.
The path to this milestone has included some of the sport’s biggest stages and brightest moments. From his early breakthrough at the 2018 ATP Finals, where he defeated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches to lift the trophy, to his gold medal triumph at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Zverev has established himself as a strong contender.
The injury setback in 2022 derailed his career and he slipped to No. 12 by the end of the year, having not competed since.
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After a testing comeback in 2023, which began with a second-round loss at the Australian Open, Zverev began to gradually find his form. He returned to the last four at Roland Garros and won titles in Hamburg and Chengdu before earning his spot at the season finale for a sixth year.
In 2024, Alexander Zverev cemented his comeback reaching the Roland Garros final for the first time and capturing two ATP Masters 1000 titles, tying him for eighth in the list for the most in the Open Era with seven in total.
