Montreal’s Diallo advances to second round of Madrid Open qualifying

By Canadian Press on April 21, 2025.

MADRID — Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo advanced to the second round of qualifying at the Madrid Open tennis tournament with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran on Monday.

The 23-year-old Diallo, seeded third in the qualifying tournament for the ATP Masters clay-court event, had nine aces to Moreno de Alboran’s one.

The six-foot-eight Canadian saved the only break point he faced by converting three of the seven chances he had, including one in the deciding game.

Diallo will next face the winner of a match between Croatian veteran Borna Coric and Finland’s Otto Virtanen for a spot in the main draw.

Diallo, ranked 78th in the world, made it into two straight Masters-level main draws last month at Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami, losing to France’s Arthur Fils in the second round both times.

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal (18) and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., (29) both have byes in the first round of the main draw in Madrid as seeded players.

In the women’s draw, 25th-seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., has a first-round bye while 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., continues her comeback from injury when she faces American McCartney Kessler in a first-round match on Wednesday,

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press