Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo made it five Canadians into the BNP Paribas Open second round in singles, joining the seeded Félix Auger-Aliassime, Victoria Mboko, and Leylah Annie Fernandez.
Diallo's Davis Cup teammate, Alexis Galarneau, was unable to join them into the second round. Galarneau was beaten by flashy French veteran Gael Monfils in their clash on Wednesday night.
Shapovalov took down Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in round one in a battle between the former Top 10 players. The Canadian improved to 5-2 against the ex-world No. 3.
The 26-year-old from Richmond Hill was strong out of the gates, going on the attack at 1-1, 15-30, and finishing off the point with a deft drop volley to hold double break point. Shapovalov needed just one try to score the early break.
The Canadian No. 3 then cruised on serve, winning eight-straight points on his delivery to lead 4-2. Shapovalov broke in the seventh game, setting him up to serve out the opening set, but the Canuck had to fight off a break point 5-2, 30-40, before eventually wrapping up the opener in a little over half an hour.
Shapovalov secured a second consecutive break to start the second, however, Tsitsipas began his push to stay in the match. The Greek broke to love in the ensuing game to even the set, then saved double break point to take a 2-1 lead.
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At 2-3, love-40, Tsitsipas was in another great spot to break and did so on the first attempt, leading 5-2 after consolidating the break with a hold.
Serving for the second at 5-3, the world No. 43 managed to dig himself out of a love-40 hole, winning five points on the bounce to send the match into a decisive set.
Shapovalov’s first delivery was back to how it was in the opener as the Richmond Hillian won 87 per cent of his first-serve points in the third, firing two of his three aces.
At 4-5, 30-all, Tsitsipas committed his 31st unforced error on the night, feeling the pressure as Shapovalov held match point. The Canadian picked his spot to approach the net and did enough with the volley to go through into round two.
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“Definitely never easy to draw a guy like [Tsitsipas] first round. I think for both of us it was a very tough matchup,” Shapovalov said in his post-match interview. “I knew I had to come out and play my ‘A game’ and come out on fire.”
Shapovalov will meet No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in the second round on Friday.
Diallo Through to Indian Wells Second Round
Gabriel Diallo was back in the win column, recording his first victory in an ATP Tour main draw since his first match of the year in Hong Kong. Diallo defeated world No. 94 Mattia Bellucci 7-6(5), 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open first round on Wednesday.
The Canadian No. 2 only faced one break point in the match which came late in the second set, comfortably saving Bellucci’s opportunity. Diallo wasn’t the most efficient when holding break point, converting on one of seven, but that lone break in the second was enough to see out the rest of the contest.
After winning just four points in as many return games, Diallo saved his pressure for later in the opening set. The Montrealer held two break points both at 4-5 and 5-6, but Bellucci managed to escape and force a tiebreaker.
The Italian had the upper hand thanks to an early mini-break that brought him out to a 4-1 advantage. Unfazed, Diallo won five points on the bounce, later holding set point on serve at 6-5. The Canadian was visibly fired up to see Bellucci’s forehand land wide following the lengthy rally as Diallo took a one-set lead.
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The Italian No. 8 began to knock on the door of Diallo’s serve, forcing deuce at 1-2 then turning 2-3, 40-love, into his first break point of the match. However, the Canuck held his nerve, eventually capping off the game with one of his ten aces to keep the set even.
It was then Diallo’s turn to try to score the match’s first break at 3-3, 15-40, and the world No. 38 converted on the second try, needing to stay perfect on serve the rest of the way to book his ticket into the second round.
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The 24-year-old did so in dominant fashion, winning eight-straight service points to set up a round-two clash against world No. 17 Andrey Rublev on Friday.
Galarneau Can’t Solve Monfils in Indian Wells Debut
Alexis Galarneau will have plenty to be happy about with his trip to Tennis Paradise, even though his stay in the main draw was short.
The 27-year-old successfully qualified for an ATP Tour main draw for the first time in his career in Indian Wells but was unable to pick up his second win at a tour event, falling in two hard-fought sets to veteran Gael Monfils.
Competing in just his fifth ATP Tour main-draw match, and first not as a wildcard at the National Bank Open, Galarneau did his best to hang with Monfils, but the Frenchman’s combination of speedy defence and big power proved too much for the Canuck. Monfils denied an all-Canadian matchup in round two, advancing to meet Félix Auger-Aliassime with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
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Monfils was able to dictate for most of the match, putting 71 per cent of his first serves in play and winning 73 per cent of those points. He fired 30 winners and converted four of his eight break points. Errors were a problem for the Canadian. He had 30 unforced errors and double-faulted six times.
Coming in with momentum after his two qualifying wins, Galarneau got off to a quick start. The Lavalois broke in the opening game on his way to a 2-0 lead, but it was short-lived. Monfils found his groove and responded with five straight games, breaking back for 2-2 and then ripping a forehand passing shot down the line to go up 4-2.
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Galarneau did not go away quietly in the opener. As Monfils served for the set, the Canadian went up 0-30 and ended up holding a pair of break points. But the flashy Frenchman erased both in classic Monfils fashion, with an ace and a forehand winner, before firing back-to-back aces to close it out.
The Frenchman looked to be cruising when he broke to love to open the second set, but Galarneau still refused to give in. Despite some great defence from Monfils, Galarneau put away a smash to give himself a break point in the following game, where his veteran opponent netted a backhand to immediately level the set at 1-1.
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Even with Monfils looking winded at times, Galarneau was unable to find a consistent way to attack the Frenchman. Monfils seemingly had all the answers and, at 3-3 with a break point chance, rifled another spectacular passing shot winner, this time off his backhand side, to seize the initiative. That break was enough, as Monfils got the two holds he needed to end Galarneau’s stay in Indian Wells.
Auger-Aliassime will look to avenge his Davis Cup teammate in the second round on Friday.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
