Quarterfinal places at the Toronto Masters will be distributed on Saturday, when Top Zaad Alexander Zverev faces Francisco Cerundolo. Holger Rune and defensive champion Alexei Pofyrin also take the court.
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. (14) Francisco Cerundolo
Zverev and Cerundolo go against each other for the fourth time in their career when they collide in round four of the National Bank on Saturday. Surprisingly, all three of their previous encounters have gone the way of Cerundolo. The 24th rank Argentijn prevailed 6-3, 6-4 on the Madrid Masters 2024, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Buenos Aires earlier this season, and 7-5, 6-3 in a recent Madrid-Rematch.
Although Zverev in one phase of the 2025 campaign saw the door to the number 1 ranked wide open, but now he has trouble maintaining the number 3 position for Taylor Fritz. The 28-year-old German has defeated Adam Walton and Matteo Arnaldi in Toronto so far, but neither of them were convincing. Cerundolo had also shaken, but he went to the last 16 by beating Jaume Munar and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Both boys are players All-Court, so a switch from clay to hard courts should not affect the matchup to a large extent. Unless Zverev suddenly can match Cerundolo in Forehand -Moed (and that is not likely), the number 14 seeds can stand in line for another upset.
Pick: Cerundolo in 3
(18) Alexei Pofyrin vs. (5) Holger Rune
Pofyrin is officially the defending champion of this Masters 1000 tournament, although it was played in Montreal last year instead of Toronto. A change in location does not seem to have changed the comfort level of Popyrin. The 26th rank Australian makes noise again and has a victory over Nicolas Arseneault followed by Daniil Medvedev with 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday evening.
The next one for Paxyrin on Saturday is a second meeting with Rune, who won their only earlier match 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on the Rome Masters 2023. The ninth ranked Dane is currently somewhat a question mark, because he immediately lost to Wimbledon to Nicolas Jarry, Dan). Toronto wins over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Alexandre Muller are encouraging signs, but they hardly provide any proof that Rune is back at its best. This is a good opportunity for Pableyrin to pick up another victory north of the border.
Pick: Pableyrin in 3
#Toronto #Tennis #Picks #Zverev #Cerundolo #Rune #Popyrin