Meet the lucky loser enjoying an incredible run of fortune at the Madrid Open
It has been a week to remember for Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, with a series of unlikely stories combining to give him the biggest week of his career.
Roll the clock back to last week and Diallo would have been looking for an alternative tournament to play in this week after he lost against Borna Coric in the second qualifying round.
That would have left the world No 78 to contemplate where he would find more clay court matches and he may have considered a late entry into ATP Challenger event in Estoril.
Yet players who lose in the final round of qualifying are on the reserve list if injuries force withdrawals and with Carlos Alcaraz among those dropping out of Madrid, Diallo got his chance to play in the main draw of the ATP 1000 tournament.
He was then drawn to face Alcaraz in round two, but avoided that fate after the Spaniard pulled out with injury, in what was a second major break for Diallo.
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Alcaraz’s absence in the bottom second of the draw saw Diallo handed two winable matches to get his campaign off and running in Madrid and he took full advantage.
He then came back from a set down to beat Britain’s experienced Cameron Norrie in round three, with his 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win giving him real momentum.
That set up a last-16 clash against No 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov and he managed to find a way to get through that match with a 5-7, 7-6[7], 6-4 win.
That score only tells part of the story as Diallo saved three match points in the second set before getting over the winning line.
âI honestly thought I was going home,â said Diallo. âI thought the margins were so thin. It might be the best serving performance I ever displayed in my whole life.
âI was lucky I got the point at 4-6 with [his] loose error, and then I was really confident at 5-6 behind my serve. Then I saved another match point.
âTennis is up and down, so you just try and manage. Luckily, today I managed to flip and win the match.”
This is Diallo’s best run at an ATP 1000 tournament and the impact on his ranking looks sets to be dramatic.
He has jumped a massive 24 places in the live ATP Rankings and is currently at No 54, with another win in Madrid set to fire him set to fire him into the top 50 for the first time in his career.
This run will have a lasting impact for Diallo over the rest of 2025, as his rankings leap will open the door for him to play in some of the biggest ATP Tour events without the need to qualify.
Diallo, 23, is making good progress in his career after he made it through to his first ATP Tour final last October, losing against Karen Khachanov in Karen Khachanov.
The win against Dimitrov was his highest by ranking of his career and now the Canadian Davis Cup star will dare to believe there is more to come.
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