Canada's Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo open with wins at Australian Open

Canada's Gabriel Diallo plays a backhand return to Italy's Luca Nardi during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Manish Swarup

MELBOURNE — Canadian tennis players Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo battled through challenging first-round matches to advance at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Shapovalov, ranked 56th, defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut (53rd) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (8) in a match that lasted more than three hours on Court 5 at Melbourne Park. The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., delivered 24 aces but struggled with 15 double faults. He faces 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy next.

Diallo, ranked 86th, relied on his powerful first serve to defeat Italy’s Luca Nardi 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in his Melbourne Park main-draw debut. The Montrealer fired 21 aces and won 75 per cent of points on his first serve in a four-hour, 10-minute battle. He meets 19th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia in the second round.

Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino lost her first-round match 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to Britain’s Katie Boulter.

In doubles, Leylah Fernandez. of Laval, Que., and Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Australians Maya Joint and Talia Gibson. Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe were set to open their campaign against Americans Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk.

Fernandez, the 30th seed in singles, was scheduled to face Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in a late second-round match.

Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, seeded 29th, fresh off his Adelaide International victory, plays Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2025.

The Canadian Press