The grass-court season began with a bang for Canadian tennis sensation Gabriel Diallo, who celebrated a commanding 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic at the Libema Open on Monday.
At just 23 years old, the Montreal native showcased his skill, racking up an impressive 13 aces without a single double fault, marking his inaugural Tour-level grass win at the ATP/WTA 250 tournament in s’-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Diallo managed to seize the only break of the match during a crucial moment, clinching it in the final game of the first set with a clean return to love. Notably, he faced no further opportunities to break throughout the 92-minute encounter.
Vukic found it challenging to capitalize on his chances, as Diallo successfully saved all four break points he encountered, including two intense ones in the 11th game of the second set.
In the next round, Diallo is set to face another Australian contender, the sixth-seeded Jordan Thompson.
Shifting to women’s doubles, Canadian duo Bianca Andreescu and Carson Branstine delivered a strong performance, triumphing over Russia’s Anastasia Potapova and Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-6 (2), 7-5. Their next challenge comes against the formidable second-seeded team of Hungary’s Fanny Stollar and Russia’s Irina Khromacheva.
On another note, at the WTA 500 Queen’s Club Championships in London, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que. faced a tough start, falling 7-6 (4), 6-2 to Germany’s Tatjana Maria.
Maria dazzled with her performance, firing off seven aces and converting three of her seven break points, while Fernandez managed to secure just one break from four opportunities.
