Gabriel Diallo earned his berth into the main draw of the US Open on Thursday.
To achieve this, the 22-year-old Montrealer took the measure of Frenchman Valentin Royer, 198ein two sets of 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the third and final round of the qualifying draw for the last major tournament of the season, in New York.
In the first round of the main draw, the 22-year-old Quebecer will face the Spaniard Jaume Munar, 72e world champion. The 27-year-old has never advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Diallo struggled to capitalize on his opportunities, being limited to two breaks in 11 chances. However, those two breaks came while he was trailing 4-3 in the second set.
Royer converted his only break point against the Canadian, to briefly take the lead in the second set, but he was unable to continue his momentum.
The representative of the maple leaf, 144e in the world, successively eliminated the Japanese Sho Shimabukuro and the French Titouan Droguet, before facing Royer in qualifying.
Diallo will therefore participate in the US Open for the first time in his career, and in a second Grand Slam tournament since he made the jump to the professional ranks.
After passing the three qualifying rounds in Paris, the Quebecer lost to the Japanese Kei Nishikori in the first round of the French Open earlier this summer.
Diallo will face fellow countrymen Félix Auger-Aliassime, 19, in the main draw of the US Open.e seeded, and Denis Shapovalov.
In the women’s competition, Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez and Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu are in the main draw.