Under the bright lights of Toronto’s Sobeys Stadium, Alexander Zverev carved out a historic milestone on Thursday, August 1, 2025, battling past Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in a thrilling three-setter to secure his 500th ATP Tour victory. The top-seeded German, ranked world No. 3, fought back from a set down to claim a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 win, cementing his place as the first player born in 1990 or later to reach this elite mark. With a grin and a touch of ambition, Zverev reflected on the achievement: “It’s a great achievement. There’s not a lot of players that reached that milestone. Of course I still want 500 more hopefully to come, and maybe even more!”
The match was a test of Zverev’s resilience. Arnaldi, the 2024 Canadian Open semi-finalist, pushed him to the brink in an 82-minute opening set, snatching it in a tiebreak after Zverev squandered a 4-2 lead. Early struggles with his backhand, which he admitted felt “a bit off,” left the German searching for rhythm. “It was actually my backhand that was feeling a bit off in the beginning, which is strange. Doesn’t happen very often,” Zverev noted. But as the match wore on, he found his groove, dominating from the baseline and dropping just four points on his first serve across the final two sets. His net play sparkled, converting 19 of 26 approaches, and by the third set, Zverev was in full control, breaking Arnaldi twice to seal the victory after two hours and 46 minutes.
This 500th win, achieved in his 712th career match, places Zverev among tennis royalty, joining active players like Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Gael Monfils, and Stan Wawrinka in the 500-club. At 28, he’s the seventh-fastest to reach the milestone this century, a testament to a career that blends prodigious talent with dogged determination. From his 2017 National Bank Open title in Montreal—where he toppled Roger Federer—to his Tokyo Olympic gold in 2021 and two ATP Finals crowns, Zverev’s journey has been punctuated by brilliance. Yet, it’s his recovery from a harrowing 2022 Roland Garros ankle injury, which sidelined him for six months, that underscores his grit. “I don’t exactly know what number I’m on, but I knew that I was close to 500,” he said, emphasizing his focus on the grind ahead. “Nothing changes for me. I’ve still got to do the work.”
Zverev’s Toronto campaign began with a hard-fought 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton, where he survived a 52-shot rally to edge the first set. “Sometimes it’s about winning a match, [despite] not always playing your best,” he said after that match, a mindset that carried him through Arnaldi’s challenge. His 2025 season, boasting 37 wins in 51 matches, includes a seventh ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris and a third Bavarian Open crown in Munich. Despite a shocking first-round Wimbledon exit, Zverev’s recent stint training with Toni Nadal in Mallorca has sharpened his focus, fueling his US Open preparations.
Next, Zverev faces a daunting hurdle in Francisco Cerundolo, the 14th-seeded Argentine who holds a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record, including two clay-court wins in 2025 at Buenos Aires and Madrid. “He’s a player who bothers me a lot. He’s solid and knows how to exploit my weaknesses,” Zverev admitted, acknowledging Cerundolo’s knack for disrupting his rhythm. Toronto’s hard courts, however, favor Zverev’s booming serve and baseline prowess, offering a chance to flip the script. “I’ll need my best version, that’s for sure,” he added, brimming with resolve.
As Toronto buzzes with excitement, Zverev’s milestone victory reverberates beyond the scoreboard, signaling his hunger for more. “You always want to win as many matches as possible. I’m all about this,” he declared, eyes set on a second Canadian title and a deep US Open run. With 111 Grand Slam wins, 153 Masters 1000 victories, and a legacy forged against the Big Four, Zverev’s 500th triumph is not just a number—it’s a promise of more battles to come.
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