MONTREAL : Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev suffered second-round exits to Dutch opponents at the Canadian Open on Wednesday, while Taylor Fritz also crashed out as more top seeds fell at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
World number three Zverev, playing his first match since losing to Jannik Sinner in last month’s Wimbledon final, was beaten 6-7(3) 6-2 6-4 by Tallon Griekspoor.
The Dutchman, ranked 69th in the world, arrived in Montreal having won only one of his previous eight tour-level matches but claimed his third career victory over the German.
“I’ve been very close to throwing in the towel a couple of times,” Griekspoor said.
“I’ve been working harder and harder lately and I’ve reached quite a good level in practice over the past couple of weeks.
“I felt like it was just a matter of time. This one is special, especially against a player like Sascha.”
The defeat was a setback for Zverev ahead of the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 30.
Fourth seed Medvedev also bowed out after a 6-3 7-6(5) loss to Botic van de Zandschulp, who secured his first victory over the 2021 U.S. Open champion.
“I played him a couple of times, and it has always been tough,” Van de Zandschulp said.
“I never beat him before, but today… I had to change it up, go out of my comfort zone and I think I did it well.”
Seventh seed Fritz, fresh from ending a near four-year title drought at last week’s Washington Open, was beaten 7-5 6-3 by Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante.
The trio’s exits left only four of the top 10 seeds remaining in the draw after sixth seed Flavio Cobolli and 10th seed Andrey Rublev were eliminated in the opening round, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew with a back injury.
World number one Jannik Sinner and 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic skipped the tournament, while second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz remains sidelined with a wrist injury that has also ruled him out of the Cincinnati Open.
