CINCINNATI — In an exciting display of talent at the Cincinnati Open, Canada’s own Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo have both advanced to the third round of men’s singles, while Leylah Fernandez faced an early exit from the women’s draw on Saturday.
Auger-Aliassime, who had a first-round bye, triumphed over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (3).
The Montreal-native, seeded 23rd, unleashed 14 aces and 30 winners during the match that lasted nearly two hours. He skillfully saved all four breakpoint opportunities against him, converting two of his four chances in this ATP Masters 1000 showdown.
After a commanding first set, Etcheverry pushed Auger-Aliassime to a tiebreak in the second. The determined Canadian surged to a 4-0 lead before clinching the match when Etcheverry sent a forehand long on match point.
This victory marks Auger-Aliassime’s first since his Wimbledon campaign, where he fell to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in the second round of the National Bank Open on July 30.
In another thrilling match, Diallo overcame Sebastian Baez from Argentina with a score of 7-5, 6-4. The 23-year-old now prepares to face top-ranked Jannik Sinner on Monday.
Meanwhile, Fernandez, who recently claimed the D.C. Open title in July, has extended her losing streak to two matches.
The 22-year-old from Laval, Quebec, a 21st seed, lost to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, as Maneiro converted four out of her six breakpoint opportunities.
In the women’s doubles event, second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and her partner Erin Routliffe from New Zealand won their first-round match against Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Japan’s Ena Shibahara with a score of 7-5, 7-5.
Rising star Victoria Mboko, who recently climbed to 24th in world rankings after winning the National Bank Open women’s singles title on Thursday, has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open to recuperate her injured right wrist.
The talented 18-year-old is anticipated to return to action at the U.S. Open later this month, where she will be seeded in the final Grand Slam of the year.
