After falling in five sets to Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon, Gabriel Diallo succumbed to him again in just two at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Friday.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
Canada’s Gabriel Diallo was looking for the biggest win of his career Friday night at the National Bank Open. It was a chance to take down a top-five player, one who eliminated him at Wimbledon last month in a thrilling five-setter.
But it wasn’t to be for the fast-rising 23-year-old Montrealer.
American World No.4 Taylor Fritz roundly beat him in the third round at Sobey’s Stadium, 6-4, 6-2. Diallo was the last Canadian standing in the singles draw at the Toronto ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Earlier: After Wimbledon battle, Diallo gets a second shot at Fritz at NBO
“I feel like I let a lot people down today, kind of let him bully me around the court a lot today and it’s not a good feeling,” said a visibly disappointed Diallo.
“I think it’s disappointing that we didn’t have a guy perform a little bit deeper in the event.”
Fritz, the 27-year-old U.S. star seeded No.2 in Toronto, is eyeing his second 1000-level crown and first since his dream-like run at Indian Wells in 2022.
With the victory, Fritz equals his best result at Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 tournament as he advances to the round-of-16, just as he did in 2022 and 2023. Next, he will face Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka on Sunday.
It was a rematch of their first meeting last month during the second round at Wimbledon, a gripping match that went the distance on grass and lasted over four hours, won by Fritz. That had been Diallo’s first career match against a top-five opponent. Friday night was his second. Losing to Fritz in five at a Grand Slam was devastating but also a proud day. It’s a huge part of the season that has seen Diallo rise 50 spots in the world rankings this year.
The Canadian, seeded No. 27 in Toronto and ranked No. 36, was shaky out of the gate in Toronto, stumbling through a pair of double faults and some unforced errors in his first service game, letting the Californian break his serve to love just minutes into the match.
Fritz and Diallo shake hands after Friday's match. Fritz joins several other top seeds and will continue to play at the NBO.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
Both big men – 6-foot-5 Fritz and 6-foot-8 Diallo – were registering serve speeds over 215 kilometres an hour. The rallies were short and the match was moving fast.
In the fifth game Diallo showed his fire, saving some break points and delivering the first couple of aces in the match. He was keeping it close.
But Fritz faced just a single break point in the first set and staved it off. Diallo was slipping up on unforced errors – 16 of them in the first set – frustrating moments like tennis balls hitting the net tape. The American was dominating thanks to his stellar first-serve performance and confidently took the first set.
Diallo’s resilient win gives Canadian fans something to cheer about at NBO
Diallo went up 1-0 early and then soon got broken to love again early in the second set too. He was battling.
Soon down 4-2, Diallo was clawing to stay in the match. The crowd was hollering to urge him back into it. But those little mistakes crept back in for the Canadian – double faults, balls thwacking into that annoying white tape. Fritz just kept taking care of business. He broke the Montrealer again.
While their last meeting had been a wild marathon, this one was done and dusted in 75 minutes.
Despite the win, the American spoke frankly about having a tough time just putting the ball in the court in Toronto, for two reasons. The court is fast and the Wilson US Open tennis balls being used shoot off the racquet and jump off the court faster.
“The conditions are – it’s been really hard to just play good tennis,” said Fritz. “I think there’s a lot of like, ugly tennis. There’s a lot of people double faulting, a lot of mistakes.”
Fritz joins several other top seeds who remain alive in Toronto. He has already won two titles this year – in Stuttgart and Eastbourne.
As for Diallo, he said he intends to play for Canada against Israel in the Davis Cup tie in Halifax in September.