Gabriel Diallo Advances to Third Round at US Open
FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. – Two days after earning the first main draw win of his career at a Grand Slam, Gabriel Diallo continued his magical run in New York, defeating [24] Arthur Fils in the second round of the US Open, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4. A qualifier into the main draw, Diallo has now won five straight matches on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Following his career-defining victory, the Canadian will now face [14] Tommy Paul of the USA in the Round of 32.
Ranked No. 143 by the ATP, Diallo was able to claim the fourth top 30 win of his career with his second-round victory of the Frenchman Fils. The former Wildcat was dominant on serve once more, hitting 12 aces, winning 77% of first serve points, and limiting Fils to only three breakpoint opportunities. Conversely, the Canadian was able to break his opponent five times and at least once in all four sets. Additionally, Diallo hit 44 winners on the day, bringing his main draw total to 108 across just two matches.
This is the first time in Diallo’s career that he has won back-to-back main draw matches at the Tour level. However, the Montreal native has had success for Team Canada, holding four career wins in Davis Cup action, including a win over No. 18 Lorenzo Musetii at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, the highest ranked win of his career. Diallo is also a Davis Cup champion, winning “The World Cup of Tennis” with Team Canada in 2022.
Diallo earned his first career main draw win at a Major on Tuesday, defeating Spain’s Jaume Munar in four sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The only Canadian left standing in either singles draw, Diallo nearly missed the main draw, having to fight off two match points in the second round of qualifying to stay alive in the tournament. After a come-from-behind three set win against Sho Shimabukuro of Japan in the opening round, Diallo fell behind a set and a break to Titouan Drogeut of France. Down 15-40, 3-5 in the second set, Diallo survived and rattled off four straight games to win the second set, eventually winning the match to advance to the final round of qualifying. In the third round, Diallo defeated another Frenchman, Valentin Royer, in straight sets to make the tournament’s main draw.
In his only prior main draw appearance at a major, Diallo took former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori to five sets, but ultimately fell short of his maiden main draw win at a Grand Slam. After dropping two close sets, Diallo flipped the script in sets three and four, but fell short in the decider, falling 5-7, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 5-7.
During his time in Lexington, Diallo was ranked as high as fourth in the ITA singles rankings, in addition to earning three All-American honors (2021 Singles, 2022 Singles and Doubles) and two All-SEC recognitions (2021 and 2022). He was a key member of Kentucky’s 2022 team that finished as runners-up in both the NCAA and SEC tournaments. His biggest moment as a Wildcat came in the national quarterfinals against No. 1 seeded TCU, as he delivered the clinching point in come-from-behind fashion.
Diallo’s third-round contest against Paul will take place on Saturday, August 31, with time and court designations to be determined. Coverage will take place on the ESPN family of networks.
