Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov Set US Open Round Three Blockbusters; Diallo Out

By Tennis Canada

August 28, 2025

Match Results US Open ATP

Felix Auger Aliassime 2025 US Open Martin Sidorjak

Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime did what they were expected to do on Thursday at the US Open, but now the real tests begin. Canada’s top two men’s singles players both have high-profile clashes coming up at the year’s final major after winning their round-two matches on Thursday.

There will just be two Canadian men in the third round, though, as Gabriel Diallo was unable to join his countryman in the round of 32.

Shapovalov spent much of his third-round match with Royer playing catch-up, but that was not a problem for the Canadian. The No. 27 seed managed to grind past the Frenchman in four sets in the second round of the US Open on Thursday, setting up a clash with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Saturday.

Despite being broken early in the first three sets, Shapovalov saved his best for last. The Canadian did a better job of holding his nerve late, edging out a 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 decision to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon 2024.

Shapovalov’s aggression paid off in the end as he smoked 71 winners, more than double Royer’s 32, while limiting himself to 43 unforced errors. He did have 15 double faults but nearly doubled that count with 29 aces. Overall, he won 82 per cent of his first-serve points.

At times in the first set, Shapovalov’s inconsistency threatened to be his undoing, but Royer kept letting him off the hook. The Canadian played a poor game to get broken to go down 2-3 and Royer rode that break to within a game of the set, only to play a poor game of his own when he served for it, allowing Shapovalov to draw back to 5-5.

The Canadian then played another bad service game, double-faulting to give Royer a second chance to serve for the set. But the Frenchman played another tense game, missing a couple of backhands to gift Shapovalov another reprieve.

Every time Royer had a chance to close out the set, he got tight. He led the tiebreaker by a minibreak at 5-4 and had a set point at 6-5 but could not convert. Shapovalov managed to find his flashy best when facing set point in the breaker, pulling off a spectacular volley winner to save it and then firing back-to-back forehand winners to steal the opening set.

History repeated to start the second but this time, Royer did not let Shapovalov off the hook. Just like the first set, the Canadian played a poor third service game, falling behind love-40 and missing a backhand on the third break point to go down 2-4. Unlike the first, the Frenchman managed to hold his nerve with the set on the line. He got the two holds he needed, never giving Shapovalov a look at a break back point, as he levelled the match at a set apiece.

Set three was a roller coaster. It opened with three straight breaks before Royer held for 3-1. Shapovalov then won three games in a row, getting the break back on his way to a 4-3 lead. The Canadian then had three set points on Royer’s serve at 4-5 but the Frenchman saved all three, two with volley winners and one with a big serve.

In the tiebreak, a spectacular forehand passing shot to secure the minibreak followed by back-to-back aces gave Shapovalov a lead he would never relinquish. He capped off the set with another incredible passing shot, this time off the backhand wing.

Shapovalov nearly found himself down an early break again when he had to face five break points in his second service game of the fourth set, but he managed to save them all. He then turned his attention to breaking the Frenchman. The Canadian missed a break point in the very next game but at 3-3, he went up love-40 and it was then Royer’s turn to double fault a game away.

The momentum was now firmly with Shapovalov. He backed up the break with a hold to love and then finished off the win with another break, having won 13 of the last 16 points.

A massive test awaits Shapovalov in the third round as the Canadian is projected to meet world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner. Shapovalov actually won his lone previous meeting with the Italian, also at a hard-court major back at the 2021 Australian Open.

Auger-Aliassime Holds Off Safiullin

Félix Auger-Aliassime needed to be sharp in the final match of the day on Court 5 against Roman Safiullin but the Canadian No. 1 was able to find his big-hitting best when he needed it most, overpowering the world No. 94 in straight sets.

After a fast start from the Canadian, the match devolved into a battle of two big hitters trying to blast the ball through each other. In the end, Auger-Aliassime was a bit sharper on the big points and managed to claim a 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory to earn himself a round-three date with third seed Alexander Zverev.

It is the first time since the 2024 French Open that Auger-Aliassime has made it to the third round of a major. The last time he got past round two at the US Open was his 2021 semifinal run.

In the high-intensity affair, Auger-Aliassime was the more efficient of the two, striking 44 winners to his opponent’s 19 while only committing 35 unforced errors while Safiullin had 41. The serve was clutch as well for the Canadian, as he won 79 per cent of his first-serve points and saved six of seven break points.

At the start, it was one-way traffic for Auger-Aliassime. He opened with a hold to love and then was gifted a break when Safiullin committed four straight unforced errors from 30-love up. An easy hold made it a 3-0 lead for the Canadian.

Even once Safiullin managed to get on the scoreboard, there was little he could do to slow Auger-Aliassime down. The Montrealer needed just 31 minutes to take the opening set, adding another break in the sixth game clinched by back-to-back forehand winners. Auger-Aliassime was one point short of doubling his opponent’s total in the first set.

Auger-Aliassime kept clicking along through much of the second set, only now Safiullin was starting to match him and hold serve without too much fuss. Through the first nine games of the set, neither man saw a break point chance. But that’s when the drama ratcheted up.

Serving at 4-5, the Montrealer found himself down love-40, triple set point, the first break points he had faced all night. The serve bailed him out, as Auger-Aliassime delivered three straight huge serves that did not come back and he was able to hold. The next time he served, again needing a hold to stay in the set at 5-6, he once again needed to save three set points but managed to escape to force a tiebreak.

After exchanging minibreaks to open the breaker, Auger-Aliassime reeled off five straight points, including two minibreaks courtesy of Safiullin errors, to go up 6-1. Having saved six set points, the Montrealer managed to convert his fourth to claim a two-set lead.

Rather than capitalizing on the momentum after winning the tiebreak, which he had a chance to with a break point in the second game, Auger-Aliassime found himself trailing for the first time all day when he was broken to love to go down 1-2.

That provided a jolt, though, as the Montrealer reeled off three straight games from 1-3 down and had a break point at 4-3 to set himself up to serve for the match. However, Safiullin hung in, saving that break point and a match point on his own serve at 4-5, 40-AD, managing to force a tiebreak.

In the breaker, Auger-Aliassime led 5-3 only for Safiullin to level at 5-5. But a poor shot into the net from the world No. 94 gave the Canadian a match point on his own serve and he made no mistake, blasting one out wide to wrap up the win in just under three hours.

Now Auger-Aliassime will look to overturn a 2-6 head-to-head deficit against Zverev. The pair have only played once since 2022, a second-round clash at the 2024 Miami Open won in straight sets by the German, but the lone Grand Slam meeting between the two was a five-set win for Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon in 2021.

Diallo Falls Short of Second-Straight US Open Third Round

A little over a year since Diallo defeated Munar for his first Grand Slam main draw win, the Spaniard got his revenge on the Canadian.

Diallo’s 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 loss was his first against Munar – the two also met in the Mallorca first round this year.

The big-serving Montrealer didn’t have much of a chance to breathe on his delivery throughout the match. Diallo faced 13 break points and was broken seven times. Despite firing 20 more winners than Munar, the Canadian No. 3 had 49 unforced errors compared to his opponent’s 13 and struggled at the net, winning less than half of his 49 net points.

Munar’s heavy pressure on Diallo’s serve began early on. The Spaniard held a pair of break points over Diallo’s opening two service games and the Canadian was unable to escape unscathed, losing serve once to find himself down 1-3.

At 1-4, 40-15, Diallo scrambled for the hold, hitting a tweener in the process. The point fired up the Canadian contingent on Court 7, lifting Diallo to a double break point in the ensuing game but the Canuck couldn’t cut into the deficit. Munar held to still lead by a break, 5-2.

The Canadian No. 3 waited till the Spaniard had set point at 5-3, 40-15, to make a push. Diallo went on to win eight of the next ten points to even the set 5-5.

In response, Munar then went on that same run to take the opener 7-5.

Diallo began the second in yet another hole, broken early to go down 0-2. The Montrealer did break in the seventh game but was quickly broken back, allowing Munar to serve for the set. This time, the Spanish No. 3 capitalized to take a commanding two-set lead.

Munar didn’t ease off the pressure in the third, holding five break points in Diallo’s first three service games. The Canadian was broken once but managed to break back as the set was level through six games.

A vital break by Munar in the eleventh game gave the Spaniard the opportunity to serve for the match and he made no mistake. The world No. 44 earned a love hold and secured his spot into the US Open third round for the first time.

Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak