Alexander Zverev handed joint-worst loss in career on hardcourts at Canadian Open 2023 by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina stormed into the third round of the 2023 Canadian Open on Wednesday, beating Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2. It marked Zverev's worst loss on hardcourts, winning just three games all match.

The last time the German did not win more than three games in a completed match was in 2018. He lost 6-2, 6-1 to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters before losing 6-1, 6-2 to Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters the next month.

In 2019, the former World No. 2 came close to matching his worst hardcourt loss, losing to Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1 at the Indian Wells Masters. Even when he was bageled by Taro Daniel at the 2023 Miami Open, Zverev won four games in the second set to escape the fate.

Davidovich Fokina next takes on third seed Casper Ruud, who beat Jiri Lehecka in straight sets in the second round. Zverev, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from the humblin loss at the Cincinnati Open, the last stop on the tour before the US Open at the end of the month.

Alexander Zverev is a former finalist at the New York Major, doing so in 2020, falling to Dominic Thiem in five sets. In Cincinnati, meanwhile, Zverev took the title the last time he played the event in 2021, beating Andrey Rublev in the final for his fifth Masters 1000 trophy.

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Alexander Zverev had come into the Canadian Open having won Hamburg

Alexander Zverev, Hamburg European Open 2023 - Day 9

Alexander Zverev's loss at the 2023 Canadian Open comes as even more of a shock, as he had just won the title at the Hamburg European Open coming into the Masters 1000 event.

The trophy at Hamburg was Zverev's first of the year and first since 2021, when he had won the season-ending ATP Finals.

At the presentation ceremony, the 26-year-old had looked the picture of confidence, saying that he felt "super happy" to have won a title in front of his home fans and that he felt as good as he felt when he won his first trophy.

“At the end of the day, this is my home, this is where I grew up, and this where I started playing tennis. It was incredible for me, incredibly emotional.

"I can’t describe it in words, I’m just super happy right now. It’s almost like a first again. It’s such a long time, 18 months, and I’m just super happy right now," Alexander Zverev said.