Gabriel Diallo Eliminated by Tommy Paul at US Open

The journey of Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo at the US Open came to an end on Saturday evening when he was defeated by American Tommy Paul in a four-set match. The final score was 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (3), and the match lasted nearly three and a half hours.

After experiencing a significant dip during the second and third sets, Diallo showed resilience in the fourth set, taking early leads of 3-0 and 4-2. However, Paul maintained his composure and gradually caught up to the 22-year-old Canadian, leading to a second tiebreak in the match.

Unlike his performance in the first tiebreak, Paul was aggressive and scored five consecutive points to establish a lead of 6-1. Diallo managed to save the first two match points but could not save the third. Paul seized upon a high, overlong volley from Diallo to hit a decisive forehand parallel, leaving no chance for the six-foot-eight athlete.

Paul expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating, “I felt I returned his serves well, but he was very competitive on mine. It was a rollercoaster during the first and fourth sets. I’m glad to have gotten through.”

Facing the tournament’s 14th seed, Diallo aimed to secure a sixth consecutive victory since arriving at Flushing Meadows, which included three wins in the qualifying rounds. In the main draw, he had previously defeated Spaniard Jaume Munar, ranked 84th in the world, and Frenchman Arthur Fils, ranked 24th, both in four sets.

At various points during the match against Paul, Diallo put up a good fight, notably with his service game, which resulted in 12 aces compared to six double faults. However, his serving also placed him in difficult situations, as he faced 20 break points, of which he failed to save nine. Diallo finished with 77 unforced errors against only 32 winners.

A victory over an experienced player like Paul could have guaranteed Diallo a match on Monday against world number one Jannik Sinner. Nonetheless, Diallo, who was the last Canadian competing in singles, is expected to rise to 103rd in the ATP rankings from his previous position of 143rd at the start of the tournament, marking his career-best ranking.

Throughout the match, except for the opening game, Diallo found himself in precarious positions while serving. He saved two break points during the third game and three more in the fifth to stay even with Paul. Eventually, Paul broke through Diallo’s defense with breaks in the seventh, ninth, and eleventh games. Each time, Diallo responded by breaking back immediately, thus forcing a tiebreak.

The two players continued their back-and-forth drama during the tiebreak, exchanging four mini-breaks over the first eight points. Paul managed to take the lead at 5-4 following another mini-break, but he lost both of his serves afterward, with Diallo clinching the first set with a winning service.

The second set was a stark contrast to the first, as Paul won the first three games, including a break in Diallo’s service, helping him achieve equal footing in just 34 minutes when Diallo sent a backhand into the net.

Diallo’s performance in the third set was even more challenging, as he found himself down 0-4 in just 20 minutes. He managed to stop the bleeding with a service game win but dropped the next two games, concluding with a service error.

After an intense first set lasting 75 minutes, the subsequent two sets combined totaled 68 minutes. Earlier in the day, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her New Zealand partner Erin Routliffe advanced to the women’s doubles round of 16 by defeating the American Catherine Harrison and the Polish Alicja Rosolska 7-5, 6-4.

The favored duo of Dabrowski and Routliffe completed their match in under 90 minutes. They achieved breaks of serve in the third and ninth games in the first set but saw their opponents immediately counter each time. However, they secured another break in the 11th game and finished the first set with a perfect game.

In the second set, Dabrowski and Routliffe took a commanding 5-2 lead with breaks in the third and seventh games. They faced a break in the eighth game but managed to adhere to their lead until the end. In the next round, Dabrowski and Routliffe will compete against the duo composed of Romanian Jaqueline Cristian and Italian Angelica Moratelli.