In a thrilling second-round showdown at the Almaty Open, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo bid farewell to the tournament after a fierce battle against Australian qualifier James Duckworth, ultimately falling 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-4 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Despite Diallo unleashing 22 powerful aces, Duckworth showcased remarkable resilience, navigating the match without facing a single break point. The intense encounter lasted just over two and a half hours.
Diallo displayed impressive precision with 82% of his first serves landing in play, winning 74% of his first service points. However, he found himself battling against eight break points; although he successfully fended off seven, Duckworth managed to secure a pivotal break at 4-3 in the decisive third set.
Next up for Duckworth is a quarterfinal clash against Italy’s third seed, Flavio Cobolli, in the ATP 250 event.
This match marked the first ATP main-draw encounter between the two players, although Diallo previously triumphed over Duckworth during the 2022 National Bank Open qualifying rounds in Montreal.
Currently ranked 35th in the world, Diallo’s season record slips to 28 wins and 22 losses.
Later on Wednesday, third seed Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., was set to compete against Leo Borg, the son of tennis icon Bjorn Borg, in the second round of the ATP 250 Stockholm Open.
On Thursday (Wednesday night ET), fourth seed Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., is lined up to face Hungary’s Dalma Galfi in second-round action at the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka.
