21-year-old Canadian Gabriel Diallo has epic reaction after first pro tennis win in Toronto
Gabriel Diallo will never forget his first pro tennis victory.
On Tuesday night in Toronto at the National Bank Open against world No. 21 Dan Evans, the 21-year-old Canadian won 7-6, 7-4 in straight sets in his first-round matchup to move on his home tournament.
Diallo delivers an upset for his first career win! 🙌🇨🇦#NBO23 | @NBOtoronto pic.twitter.com/uu1YJdaZZH
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 9, 2023
Coming into Tuesday with an 0-3 record in ATP matches, Diallo powered through Evans in the second set to eventually let out quite the roar following his match-point win.
“[I had] A lot of frustration because I was up a break three times. But no, I just, like I said, try to stay calm, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have emotions,” Diallo said in a question asked by Daily Hive. “I was angry because I wasn’t able to keep my lead; I started missing a lot of first serves. So it was starting to get on my nerves a little bit.”
Australian Alex de Minaur awaits Diallo for a match tomorrow in the Round of 32.
“I was able to get a couple breaks that brought me back in the lead. And then, obviously, at the end, I was proud of myself. And the nerves just took over,” Diallo added. And for the, like, maybe the next 20, 25 seconds after the match point, you don’t really know what’s going on. “It’s all instinct. It’s not like you’re saying before the point, okay, if I win, I’m going to do this. It’s just like everything is happening, and whatever your reaction is is your reaction. So I was extremely happy.”
It wasn’t the only hometown victory on the day, with Montreal’s Leylah Fernandez picking up a win on the women’s side of the bracket over Peyton Stearns.
A junior student and a student at the University of Kentucky when he’s not playing tennis, Diallo said he’s trying to stay humble about what he hopes will be the start of a lengthy career.
“Words cannot really describe how I feel right now,” Diallo said in his on-court interview. I hope that everyone on this planet can feel what I’m feeling right now, this level of happiness.”
Follow Channels and Categories