MADRID - Montreal's Gabriel Diallo made the most of a last-minute spot in the Madrid Open, beating Belgiumsa国际传媒 Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round.
Diallo entered the main draw as a replacement for Japansa国际传媒 Yoshihito Nishioka, who withdrew before the tournament.
Diallo didn鈥檛 face a break point and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points. He converted all four of his break chances and won 19 points on return.
It was a strong response after falling to Croatiasa国际传媒 Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the final round of qualifying on Wednesday.
Diallo will next face fellow lucky loser Kamil Majchrzak, who replaced two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz after the second-seeded Spaniard withdrew Thursday with a muscle injury.
Later Thursday, 25th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was scheduled to face Ann Li of the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
