Felix Auger-Aliassime stands tall as the sole Canadian in the singles competition at the French Open.
The No. 4 seed triumphed over No. 31 seed Brandon Nakashima from the U.S., clinching victory with scores of 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) on Saturday, propelling him into the round of 16.
With notable players like Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic knocked out and Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by injury, this presents an incredible opportunity for Auger-Aliassime to seize a Grand Slam title.
The Montreal sensation equaled his personal best at the French Open, reaching the fourth round for the third time. He fended off a set point against Nakashima in a gripping third set before clinching it in a tiebreaker.
Up next, he’ll square off against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, who spent his early years in Toronto.
Auger-Aliassime previously enjoyed success at Roland-Garros during the 2024 Olympics, finishing fourth in singles and securing a bronze medal in mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski.
On the women’s side, Canada’s Victoria Mboko exited in the third round after a hard-fought battle against Madison Keys of the United States.
Keys emerged victorious with scores of 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 over the ninth-seeded Mboko in this prestigious clay court tournament.
19-year-old Mboko, hailing from Burlington, Ont., also made it to the third round in her debut at last year’s French Open.
After trailing 4-2 in the final set, she staged a commendable comeback to level the match at 5-5.
Although she had a chance to force a tiebreaker, her serve was broken by the 19th-seeded Keys in a match that extended over two and a half hours.
Keys will now advance to face 25th-seed Diana Shnaider from Russia in the fourth round.
