WATCH: Zverev Clashes With Heckler In Toronto, Dedicates Him Celebration

Tuesday, 05 August 2025 at 10:43

byErik Virostko

Alexander Zverev clashed with a heckler during his quarter-final win at the 2025 Canadian Open, and he even dedicated the person a celebration after his victory.

The German player took a scenic route to get to the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto. His opponent was Alexei Popyrin, who was the defending champion, having won in Montreal last year.

The Australian found an inspired level this year as well, winning the first-set tie-break against the top seed. In the following two sets, Zverev took over the match, eventually winning 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3.

It was a hard-fought win, but in the moments when Zverev served for the match, one of the fans, or better said, a heckler, wanted to extend the match for a bit longer. The person in question was maybe Popyrin's fan or a gambler, who didn't want the top seed to win.

When Zverev served for the match at 5-3, the person repeatedly heckled the German player, who seemed to be annoyed by his actions. Eventually, the security removed the fan in question.

A couple of points later, Zverev converted his first match point, and he chose a celebration dedicated to that heckler. Although the person was no longer in their seat, the German player waved at them, saying goodbye.

Zverev continues title charge in depleted Toronto draw

Without the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic in the draw, Zverev is the top favorite to win in Toronto. He has now secured a semi-final meeting with Karen Khachanov, which means he is only two wins away from winning the title.

During his post-match press conference, Zverev admitted that he started to feel better on the court in his recent matches, which is a positive sign for him.

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"I'm actually quite satisfied with the level today. I thought it was a high-level match. Alexei plays the best tennis of his life in Canada, obviously, every year. So, yeah, all-in-all, I think it was a good performance."

"Today was definitely the first time I actually felt the ball well on the racket. I know that the conditions can fit me very well. I know that. It's a fast court, the balls are fast. But I need to get used to it. I need to get the rhythm with these balls."

"So, I'm happy that I'm slowly starting to do that, hopefully. Yeah, if I continue doing that, in the semifinals maybe even play a bit better, I have confidence in what's going to happen this week."

Zverev explains why he didn't skip the Canadian Open like his rivals

With Sinner, Djokovic, and Alcaraz all absent, Zverev was asked why he made his way to Canada. The German's situation is a bit different, as he lost early at Wimbledon, giving him some needed time off.

That's why he could travel to Toronto to compete for the ATP Masters 1000 trophy, using his previous shortcomings to his advantage.

"Well, I lost first round Wimbledon, so I had a month off. That's probably the number one reason. At the end of the day, it's still a Masters 1000, and I think these are the biggest tournaments that we have on the ATP Tour. We're fighting for big things here."

"It's a privilege to play in these kind of events. Yeah, I think it's not beneficial for top players that it's a two-week event now. But all-in-all, I had quite a lot of time off. I could rest for a week completely without doing anything, and then I had a lot of time to train. So it was, yeah, it was a good thing for me to play here."