Gabriel Diallo booked a spot in the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch while fellow Montreal-native Félix Auger-Aliassime missed out on the chance for his third title of the season in Stuttgart.
Diallo can add a second-ATP Tour final to his resumé as the Canadian defeated world No. 20 Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(4) in the Libema Open semifinal on Saturday.
The 23-year-old earned his third Top-20 victory of the year, reaching the final two of a tournament for the first time since the Almaty Open in October.
Diallo was under little to no pressure on serve in the win, not facing a single break point while winning 83 per cent of his first-serve points. The world No. 55 held five break points but only converted on one, which proved decisive in the first set.
The Montreal-native’s serve was the difference in the opener as the 23-year-old won 82 per cent of his first-serve points in the set.
Read Also: Colburne Cleaning Up at Canadian Events
In the eighth game, Diallo had an opportunity for a crucial break that would set him up to serve for the set. At love-15, Humbert committed three of his 25 unforced errors in the match to hand the Canadian the break.
Then at 5-3, 40-30, Diallo powered his eighth winner of the set to take the opener over the world No. 20.
The Canadian nearly managed a second-straight break to begin the second set but, at 30-40, Humbert served well under pressure to hold. After taking the seventh game to lead 4-3, the French No. 2 called for a medical timeout due to a lower-back issue but would continue.
When play resumed, Diallo let two break points slip away, dropping just one point in three service games as the set went to a tiebreaker.
Trailing 2-1 in the tiebreak, the Canadian No. 3 won two-straight points on return to take the lead. The Montreal-native then didn’t drop a point on serve for the rest of the way en route to a place in Sunday’s final.
Read Also: Revisiting Monica Seles’ Dramatic 1995 Return to Tennis in Toronto
Diallo will play Belgian No. 2 Zizou Bergs for the Libema Open title. The two already met once this year, with the Canadian coming out on top in the Madrid Open first round.
Auger-Aliassime falls short of Stuttgart final
Auger-Aliassime’s chance for a third final in Stuttgart came to an end on Saturday as the Montreal-native lost to world No. 7 Taylor Fritz in the BOSS Open semifinal.
The American No. 1’s 6-4, 7-6(5) win sends him to his first final of the season, improving to a record of 3-1 all-time against the Canadian No. 1.
Both players were solid on serve throughout the nearly hour and a half match, winning at least 80 per cent of their first-serve points. Auger-Aliassime only faced two break points but was only able to save one. Fritz’s crucial break won him the first set as the 27-year-old didn’t face a break point in the match.
It was smooth sailing for Fritz in his opening two service games. The American didn’t drop a point on serve while firing two aces.
At 2-2, Auger-Aliassime won his first points on return but at 40-30, the 24-year-old committed one of his 23 unforced errors in the match as Fritz held. This was the only game where the Montreal-native won at least two points on his opponent’s serve.
Read Also: Tennis Canada unveils second part of 2025 National Event Calendar
In the tenth game, Auger-Aliassime needed a hold to extend the set. However, despite his two aces, the Canadian struggled, recording four unforced errors to hand Fritz the opener.
The second set had some impressive displays on serve. Auger-Aliassime won 85 per cent of his first-serve points in the set while Fritz won 91 per cent.
In the fourth game, the 24-year-old from Montreal faced his second break point of the afternoon but saved before winning the ensuing two points to even the set at 2-2.
The set eventually needed a tiebreak where Fritz got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to an early mini-break but Auger-Aliassime responded well to even it at 2-all. The Canadian managed to go in front in the tiebreaker at 4-3, however, the American won four of the next five points and took the match.
Read Also: Alcaraz, Sinner lead new chapter in tennis’ greatest rivalries
Auger-Aliassime remains in Germany as the world No. 29 awaits a qualifier for his first-round match at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle next week.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
