In an exciting turn of events at the Madrid Open, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo, who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, surged into the fourth round on Tuesday by staging a remarkable comeback against Britain’s Cameron Norrie, winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The 22-year-old showcased his skills by delivering eight powerful aces and securing critical breaks in the final two sets, propelling him forward in this prestigious clay-court showdown.
As the last Canadian standing in Madrid, Diallo claimed his main draw spot as a substitute for Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who withdrew prior to the competition. He has triumphantly defeated Zizou Bergs, Kamil Majchrzak, and now Norrie to reach this stage.
Next up, Diallo will take on the No. 15 seed, Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria, in the round of 16—marking his first encounter against a seeded player in this tournament.
This achievement represents Diallo’s best showing at an ATP Masters 1000 event to date.
In contrast, Denis Shapovalov, seeded 29th and hailing from Richmond Hill, Ont., fell short in his match, losing 6-3, 7-6 (3) to Australia’s No. 6 Alex de Minaur.
While Shapovalov struck six aces, he struggled with five double faults and a staggering 37 unforced errors.
“He possesses incredible firepower from every corner of the court, and I had to ensure I minimized his ability to dictate play,” remarked De Minaur, who improved his record to 5-0 against Shapovalov.
It’s worth noting that both Diallo’s and Shapovalov’s matches were pushed back from Monday due to a widespread power outage affecting significant parts of Spain and Portugal.
