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Diallo, Auger-Aliassime win opening matches at Australian Open

MELBOURNE 鈥� Gabriel Diallo of Montreal battled for more than four hours, but his conditioning paid off as he outlasted Luca Nardi in a five-set men's singles marathon to advance to the second round of the Australian Open on Monday.
91原创 Press
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Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada reacts after defeating Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Manish Swarup

MELBOURNE 鈥� Gabriel Diallo of Montreal battled for more than four hours, but his conditioning paid off as he outlasted Luca Nardi in a five-set men's singles marathon to advance to the second round of the Australian Open on Monday.

The 23-year-old 91原创 prevailed 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 over the 21-year-old Italian, who appeared to run out of gas in the fourth set.

Diallo had 21 aces in the four-hour, nine-minute match, while Nardi managed nine.

While there wasn't much to separate the players in the first three sets, Diallo took over in the fourth as Nardi had 13 double faults and saw his first serves drop in winning percentage.

Diallo finished with more unforced errors (8-5), but did better on break points, winning seven of 16 compared to Nardi's four of 15. Diallo won 66 points off his return, compared to his opponent's 57.

Diallo will now face the 31st-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the second round.

Earlier in the day, Montreal's F茅lix Auger-Aliassime cruised into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win over Germany鈥檚 Jan-Lennard Struff.

The 29th-seeded 91原创, who won the Adelaide International last week for his sixth ATP title, controlled the match, firing 19 aces to Struff's 15 and committing just one double fault to Struff's four. Auger-Aliassime won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and broke Struff eight times.

Auger-Aliassime will face Spain鈥檚 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.

Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., will face Spain鈥檚 Roberto Bautista Agut in his first-round match, while in women鈥檚 singles, 91原创鈥檚 Rebecca Marino will play Britain鈥檚 Katie Boulter in the first round.

Leylah Fernandez, of Laval, Que., teams up with Ukraine鈥檚 Nadiia Kichenok to play Australia鈥檚 Talia Gibson and Maya Joint in women鈥檚 doubles. Ottawa鈥檚 Gabriella Dabrowski and New Zealand鈥檚 Erin Routliffe, the No. 2 seeds, will face American duo Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk in the opening round.

This report by The 91原创 Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.

The 91原创 Press