Alexander Zverev shares what he told himself after losing the first set to Alexei Popyrin at the Canadian Open

Alexander Zverev reached a new milestone after booking his place in the Canadian Open semi-finals.

The German is searching for his second title of the season and a first Masters 1000 trophy since November’s Paris Masters.

Alexander Zverev arrived in Toronto following a disappointing opening round defeat at the Wimbledon Championships in June.

But the 28-year-old appears to have put that defeat firmly behind him and is now playing some more consistent tennis.

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Alexander Zverev says he made a mistake in the first set tiebreak of the Canadian Open quarter-final

Zverev took on Alexei Popyrin at the ATP Canadian Open and the Australian took an early lead.

There was little to separate the two players in set one, but Popyrin clinched the first set tiebreak 10 points to eight when his half volley clipped the net on its way over the net, leaving Zverev no chance of returning it.

Zverev raised his level from that moment forward, surging into a 3-0 lead in both the second and third sets before closing out a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory.

After losing the first set, Zverev admitted making some mistakes in the tiebreak, but he kept telling himself that his level was high, and chances to turn the match around would come.

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“I had to tell myself, even though I lost the first set, I thought we were both playing actually quite well,” the Canadian Open’s top seed said post-match.

“I did one or two mistakes in the end [of the tie-break], and I was very unlucky with the net cord on set point. But all in all, I thought it was a high level, and if I continue playing that way, I’m going to get my chances — and that’s what I did.”

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Alexander Zverev maintains unbeaten record against Alexei Popyrin and ended his Canadian Open title defence

Zverev went into the Canadian Open quarter-finals unbeaten against Popyrin.

Popyrin had yet to win a set off Zverev until their Toronto contest, but he was unable to maintain his advantage as Zverev came storming back to take victory.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up claimed 82% of his first-serve points, including 16 of the last 17.

Zverev was pleased with how he served, but he expressed the need to change his return position to try and make inroads on Popyrin’s serve, which he managed to achieve.

“I had to find a return position in the beginning because he’s a very big server, and when he gets into a rhythm, it’s very difficult against him,” added Zverev.

“I did that in the second and third set. Honestly, I can’t complain about much. I played one loose game on my serve in the second set, but apart from that, it was pretty good.”

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