Gabriel Diallo’s Indian Wells upset sets up all-Canadian Round 3 stakes
Gabriel Diallo has pushed himself into a high-leverage third-round test at Indian Wells, turning one upset into an all-Canadian matchup that keeps Montreal in the center of the men’s singles draw. Saturday at 6: 00 p. m. ET, he completed a three-set comeback against Andrey Rublev at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a meeting with ninth-seeded Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Gabriel Diallo earns a third-round shot after nearly three hours on court
Diallo, a 24-year-old from Montreal, lost the opening set 6-7 before reversing the match with a 7-6, 6-3 finish in the second round of men’s singles. The win came in an ATP 1000 event, and it moved him into a third-round clash scheduled for Sunday against Auger-Aliassime, also of Montreal.
The margins were tight for long stretches. Diallo needed almost three hours to close out the upset of the 17th-seeded Rublev, and his stat line reflected both the pressure and the payoff: 12 aces, 40 winners, 44 unforced errors, and six double faults. Still, he created enough openings on return to swing the match, winning four of seven break points and taking 25% of his return games (four of 16).
Rublev finished with six aces, 34 winners, 32 unforced errors, and three double faults. In the break-point battle, Rublev won three of 17 return games (18%) and saw Diallo save two of five break points.
Félix Auger-Aliassime awaits after his win over Gael Monfils
The result sets up a third-round meeting between Diallo and Auger-Aliassime, the ninth seed, on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open. The matchup is framed in Canada as a meeting between the country’s top two men, with both players from Montreal.
Auger-Aliassime advanced to this stage after beating Gael Monfils on Friday, setting the opponent that Diallo will now face after his comeback win over Rublev.
Leylah Fernandez exits in 3 1/2-hour loss as Gabriela Dabrowski advances
Canada also had significant movement elsewhere in the tournament on Saturday. Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Quebec, lost a three-set match to Katernina Siniakova of Czechia in a contest that lasted 3 1/2 hours. Fernandez fell 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 after saving 15 of 19 break points and converting four of 19 break points, with two aces and five double faults.
In women’s doubles later Saturday, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and her partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil beat Jiang Xinyu of China and Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway 5-7, 6-3 (10-5), extending their run while the singles field continues to narrow.
If the Sunday third-round schedule holds, the Diallo vs. Auger-Aliassime winner is expected to be decided later that day in Indian Wells.
