Watch the moment Alexander Zverev and Adam Walton played out the longest rally of the year with an incredible 52 shots at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Alexander Zverev Survives 52-Shot Rally To Beat Adam Walton
Alexander Zverev bounced back from his early Wimbledon exit by overcoming Adam Walton in straight sets at the National Bank Open, in which he survived an incredible 52-shot rally.
Top seed Zverev sealed a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over the Australian to book his place in the last-32.
With the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic skipping out on the event in Toronto, he’ll be looking to take advantage by winning his second title of the year.
Although the likes of Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton pose a threat, bookmakers are backing Zverev for the championship, with tennis betting sites pricing him as the 9/2 title favourite.
Fritz follows as second favourite at 11/2, with Shelton third at 8/1, while the likes of Alex De Minaur (17/2) and Daniil Medvedev (10/1) are also among the bookies’ frontrunners.
Thanks to his win over Walton, in which he dropped just three points on serve, the 2025 Australian Open finalist moves within one of 500 career tour-level wins.
The highlight of the one-hour, 42-minute clash was undoubtedly the incredible 52-shot rally.
It came at a critical moment too, with the score level at 5-5 in a tiebreak in the first set.
Zverev clinched the point at the end of the lung-busting back-and-forth, which proved to be the longest rally of the year thus far, as those in attendance at Sobeys Stadium watched on in awe.
WATCH: Zverev and Walton Star In 52-Shot Rally
52 Shots of the highest quality 🔥#NBO25 pic.twitter.com/sy2Hq2X2WY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 30, 2025
Zverev Eyes Improvement as Arnaldi Awaits
Speaking after his win over Walton, Zverev said: “It was a very important moment, a very important point for me. Lucky to get through in the first set and finishing it off in two.
“Sometimes it’s about winning a match, [despite] not always playing your best.
“I know it wasn’t the prettiest match, for sure, but I haven’t played a match in four weeks. I took some time off, which I needed also for myself. I’m happy to be playing again.
“Tomorrow is another day and I hope I will be better tomorrow.”
Up next, the German takes on 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi in the round of 32 on Thursday. The Italian challenger defeated Tristan Schoolkate 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in his round of 64 match.
They have previously met just once this year, with Zverev triumphing 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 over Arnaldi in the round of 32 at the Mexican Open in Acapulco in late February.
Zverev is heavily favoured to prevail again here, priced by bookmakers at around 2/7.
