Only one Canadian left in US Open — and it's not who you think
If you’re a Canadian tennis fan hoping to watch a long run at the US Open, it might already be too late.
Canadians Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo all competed in the first round of singles at this year’s event in Flushing Meadows, New York, and all five were in action on Tuesday.
But outside of Diallo, all of the Canadians will have a much earlier exit than planned. Fernandez, Andreescu, Auger-Aliassime, and Shapovalov all dropped their first-round matches on Tuesday, denying themselves a shot at a deep run.
Andreescu was downed by familiar foe Jasmine Paolini, losing 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, while Fernandez also took the first set off Anastasia Potapova but fell 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Auger-Aliassime fell in three sets to Jakub Menšík, going down 2-6, 4-6, 2-6, while Shapovalov was also eliminated in straight sets by Botic Van de Zandschulp, falling 6-4, 7-5, and 6-4.
Diallo, a 22-year-old Montreal native, has mostly been competing on the NCAA tennis circuit with the University of Kentucky. But his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Spain’s Jaume Munar on Tuesday was his first-ever win at a major tournament and could be the lone win for a Canadian in New York this year. On Thursday, Diallo is set to go up against Arthur Fils for his second-round matchup, with the Frenchman seeded 24th in the draw.
But while Canada’s hope of another singles title is likely gone, there’s still plenty to watch for, should Diallo not be able to make a long run.
Fernandez and Shapovalov will remain in the doubles draw, as will Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe, who won the US Open women’s doubles title a year ago.
Though Routliffe was born in New Zealand, she spent much of her childhood in Ontario and Quebec and currently resides in Caledon, having previously represented Canada internationally before switching her allegiance to her home country.
The US Open continues today at 11 am ET/8 am PT on TSN’s group of networks.