Quebec tennis player Gabriel Diallo reached the final of the National Bank Championships in Granby on Saturday, defeating Japanese Hiroki Moriya in two sets of 6-3 and 6-4 in his semi-final duel.
The crowd favorite was never really worried in the first round, he who gave no opportunity to break his opponent. On the other hand, the 518th racket of the ATP took advantage of one of his four break points to give himself an advantage.
In the second set, the Montreal native had to work harder. He was able to take his opponent’s serve in games one and five, but the world’s 290th racquet – and seeded ninth – replied on every occasion, breaking serves in games two and eight.
Diallo delivered the knockout blow in the ninth, stealing his opponent’s serve for the third time in the set, before serving for the set.
The representative of the maple leaf was particularly effective when his opponent had the balls in hand, winning 47% of rallies when the latter placed his first ball between the lines, in addition to maintaining a success percentage of 50% in a second situation. ball. He was also very good when serving himself, winning 70% of rallies when his first serve was in play.
One win away from a first title
In the final, Diallo will face the Chinese Juncheng Shang. The latter won his semi-final match in three sets of 6-3 and 6-4 against the American Aidan Mayo.
The 20-year-old athlete will try to win his first career title on the ATP Challenger circuit, he will also be in his first final on Sunday.
It will also be a first duel between the two players. Shang will look for his part to defeat a second favorite of the crowd in Granby, he who had also shown the way out to Canadian Marko Stakusic in the first round.