"He can be a top 10 player, maybe even top 8," says Zverev about Popyrin

Alexander Zverev ended Alexei Popyrin's hopes of a Canadian double. The Australian, who surprisingly won his first Masters 1000 last year in Montreal, was still in contention in Toronto before facing Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.

The German, the top seed, lost the first set in a tiebreak but ultimately prevailed in three sets (6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in 2h43). Zverev, who will face Karen Khachanov for a spot in the final, spoke about Popyrin in his post-match press conference.

"I already said it on the court after the match—Alexei (Popyrin) always feels very comfortable here in Canada. He should analyze why that is, because if he plays at this same level with this quality of tennis for the rest of the year, he can be a top 10 player, maybe even top 8, and compete to play the ATP Finals in Turin.

He’s shown this week that he has the potential. He beat Medvedev and Rune, for example. And last year, he won the tournament," Zverev told *The Tennis Gazette*.