Sports
Félix Auger-Aliassime Exits US Open in First Round
(New York) Félix Auger-Aliassime had a brief appearance at the US Open Tennis Championships, losing in the first round. He was defeated by Czech player Jakub Mensik with a score of 6-2, 6-4, and 6-2 on Tuesday afternoon.
Auger-Aliassime, the 19th seed in the tournament, struggled throughout the match and conceded defeat after two hours and three minutes on Court 5.
With this loss, he now holds a career record of 1-1 against Mensik, who is currently ranked 64th in the world. Earlier this year, Auger-Aliassime won against Mensik in the third round of the Madrid Masters.
The 24-year-old Québécois was in the same section of the draw as the world number one, Italian player Jannik Sinner. Sinner made headlines last week after being cleared despite testing positive for an anabolic steroid in March.
Later in the day, Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov is set to compete against Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp. Shapovalov has previously defeated van de Zandschulp in their only match earlier this year in Indian Wells.
Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo will also be in action this afternoon against Spanish player Jaume Munar, who is ranked 72nd in the world. The 27-year-old Munar has yet to advance past the second round in a Grand Slam event. Diallo, aged 22, earned his main draw entry into the US Open after successfully navigating three rounds of qualifying last week.
In the women’s draw, Québécois Leylah Annie Fernandez is scheduled to meet Russian player Anastasia Potapova, who is currently ranked 43rd. Fernandez, 21, has an impressive 4-0 career record against Potapova, having defeated her in Madrid and Strasbourg earlier this season.
Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu faces a significant challenge in the evening session as she competes against Italian fifth seed Jasmine Paolini. Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019, has lost both of her previous encounters with Paolini, at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.
