Quebecer Gabriel Diallo is only one victory away from a place in the main draw of the French Open tennis tournament after defeating Argentinian Marco Trungelliti 7-6 (6), 3-6 and 6-4 in the second round of qualifying on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Montrealer hit 30 winners and converted five of his nine break points to overcome Trungelliti after a marathon of three hours and five minutes on Parisian clay.
Diallo will face Swiss Alexander Ritschard on Thursday, with a place in the main draw at stake.
In the women’s category, Canadian Rebecca Marino was not as lucky and lost 6-2, 6-3 to Croatian Lucija Ciric Bagaric in the second round of qualifying.
Marino was trying to reach the main draw at Roland Garros for a third consecutive year.
For her part, Ontarian Marina Stakusic will meet a little later today with Croatian Antonia Ruzic in the second round of qualifying.
The French Open will officially kick off on Sunday.
On the men’s side, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ontarian Denis Shapovalov already have their place in the main draw. Among the women, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez obtained her pass to the main draw.
Ontarian Bianca Andreescu should also be part of the main draw in Paris, by virtue of her protected ranking. She has not played a match since her back injury suffered at the National Bank Open in Montreal last August.
Meanwhile, Shapovalov meets sixth-seeded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 16 of the Geneva Tennis Open this afternoon.