National Bank Open Presented by Rogers
Zverev, Rune Featured on Saturday in Toronto; Gauff Faces Mboko in Montreal
Saturday’s ATP Tour and WTA Results and Previews from Toronto and Montreal
Saturday’s action at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada will see top seed Alexander Zverev take on No. 14 seed Francisco Cerundolo, and No. 5 seed Holger Rune go up against defending champion and No. 18 seed Alexi Popyrin.
Zverev, who will be looking to claim the title this week and turn around his season, has lost to Cerundolo on all three occasions throughout his career (all matches played on clay). The top seed will need to be on top form if he is to overcome the stern challenge from the Argentine.
Also during the night session, powerful Dane Rune will take a 1-0 series lead against Australia’s Popyrin.
Rune has had an up-and-down season, winning the title in Barcelona, Spain (over Carlos Alcaraz), making the finals of the BNP Paribas Open (lost to Jack Draper) and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open and French Open.
He currently stands at 24-14 on the year and will be looking to continue his momentum as the US Open approaches later this month.
Popyrin, who won the event last year in Montreal, defeated Andrey Rublev for his first Masters 1000 crown.
Other matches on the day will see No. 26 seed Alex Michelsen taking on fellow American Learner Tien, and No. 8 seed Casper Ruud going up against No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov.
On Friday evening, the last Canadian player in the singles draw bowed out when No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz defeated No. 27 seed Gabriel Diallo from Montreal 6-4, 6-2. The pair had played a five-set thriller at Wimbledon earlier this Summer.
Gauff vs. Mboko in Montreal
Saturday’s schedule in Montreal will feature a popcorn match between top seed Coco Gauff and Canadian upstart Victoria Mboko.
Playing each other on one occasion earlier this year in Rome, Mboko won the first set before Gauff ran away with the match.
Gauff, who is the reigning French Open winner and former US Open champion, will be heavily favoured against her 18-year-old opponent.
That said, Mboko has shown that she is ready for the big stage and has increased her ranking steadily throughout the year. The Burlington native defeated former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin en-route to the fourth round.
Other matches on the day will feature No. 24 seed Marta Kostyuk taking on No. 28 seed McCartney Kessler, No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina facing No. 30 seed Dayana Yastremska, and the night cap will see Zhu Lin from China taking on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro from Spain.
Stay tuned for daily coverage from TennisConnected.com, including match analysis, updated draws, and all the latest results.
Looking to catch the action live? Streaming details for this week’s ATP Tour and WTA events at the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal can be found right here.
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