Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Zverev backed to make Toronto final

It hasn't been pretty, but Zverev has got the job done as the top seed this week and now stands two wins away from an eighth Masters 1000 title. The German has been well below his best since making the Australian Open final at the start of the season - in fact, this is his first Masters 1000 semi-final since Paris last year. After spending some time with Rafa and Toni Nadal in Mallorca after his first round Wimbledon exit, Zverev looks mentally refreshed and ready for a big end to the season - starting with the business end of Toronto.

Khachanov meanwhile has hit a nice little resurgence over the last couple of months, winning eight of his last nine matches, while the Russian is now just the seventh man this century to have made three Canada Masters semi-finals after doing so in 2018-19. However, this isn't a good matchup for Khachanov - he's lost the last three meetings and they haven't been close, with Zverev winning all of them in straight sets without dropping more than four games in a set. Zverev simply has the ability to outlast and defend Khachanov's best tennis and that's a pattern of play I expect to dictate the outcome of Wednesday's showdown.

Zverev leads 5-2 and as mentioned, has won the last three meetings in straight sets: 6-3 6-2 and 6-1 6-4 in Cincinnati and Miami last year, along with a 6-3 6-1 demolition in the 2021 Tokyo final.

Zverev has compiled a 39-14 record on the season and has advanced into his first Masters 1000 semi-final of the season as he looks to turn his fortunes around.

It was a great start to the year for Zverev, but losing another Grand Slam final - this time at the Australian Open in straight sets to Jannik Sinner - impacted him heavily and he's really not been the same since.

After going down to Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals and suffering his first opening round exit at a major since 2019 at Wimbledon to Arthur Rinderknech, Zverev took some time off and confided in both Rafa and Toni Nadal for some guidance.

The long-term effects of that meetup remains to be seen, but Zverev has got back to winning ways in Toronto, beating Adam Walton, Matteo Arnaldi, Francisco Cerundolo (via retirement) and defending champion Alexei Popyrin to make the final four.

Zverev ended the nine-match Canada Masters winning streak of Popyrin, recovering from dropping the opening set to prevail 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3 and become just the second active player behind Djokovic to make 75 tour-level semi-finals.

Khachanov comes into this contest with a 26-16 record on the season and seeking his first final of 2025 after reaching semi-finals in Halle and Barcelona.

It wasn't a great start to the year for Khachanov and he repeatedly stumbled against the better players, going on an 11-match losing streak against top 20 opponents.

The Russian didn't have to face a player ranked higher than No. 37 in his recent run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but he did snap his losing streak vs top 20 players in Toronto this tournament, beating No. 13 Casper Ruud in the R16.

The 29-year-old has proceeded to advance into his third Canada Masters semi-final after avenging his Australian Open defeat to Alex Michelsen from earlier in the season, beating the young American by a 6-4, 7-6(3) score, saving two set points in the second set.

Khachanov is now aiming to make a second Masters 1000 final after winning in Paris back in 2018.