Zverev and Gauff Advance in Canadian Open After Close Matches

Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff, both top seeds, secured their spots in the third round of the Canadian Open on Tuesday. Both players faced tough challenges from their respective opponents.

Zverev, ranked third in the world, was competing in his first match since his early exit at Wimbledon. He struggled to find his best form but managed to defeat Adam Walton with a score of 7-6(6), 6-4 in Toronto. A crucial 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak swung the momentum in Zverev's favor. He ultimately secured the victory when his opponent committed a double fault in the second set.

Zverev acknowledged the importance of the match, particularly the pivotal point in the first set. He admitted that it wasn't his most impressive performance, but he was pleased with his resilience after taking a break from the sport following his Wimbledon defeat. He expressed his satisfaction with returning to competition.

In the women's draw, top seed Gauff narrowly escaped defeat, battling back from the brink to defeat fellow American Danielle Collins. The match lasted nearly three hours, with Gauff prevailing 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2). Despite committing 23 double faults and 74 unforced errors, Gauff managed to win their first-ever match.

Gauff reflected on her performance, noting that she hadn't played as well as she had been practicing. She expressed hope that she had gotten her "bad match" of the tournament out of the way.

Several prominent players withdrew from the Masters and WTA 1000 tournament before it began. These included world number ones Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, along with Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jack Draper.