Monday Digest: Blockbuster First Rounders Await at US Open

Anyone looking for some fascinating first-round matches at the US Open this week should have a peek at the Canadians’ draws. 

From a recurring rivalry at the majors to a clash of Canadians in the doubles, there is so much to watch in the early rounds of the year’s final major. And most of it will be happening on Tuesday. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

In Case You Missed It: Diallo’s New York Dream 

For the second time in 2024, Gabriel Diallo was able to come through qualifying to reach the main draw of a major. 

It was not easy for the 6’8 Montrealer, who rallied from a set down in round one against Sho Shimabukuro and then had to save match points and come back from a set and 3-5 down in the second round against Titouan Droguet of France. 

But when the main draw was within reach, he seized his opportunity, clinching a spot with a straight-set win over Valentin Royer. Diallo previously qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw earlier this year at Roland-Garros. 

Diallo was the only Canadian to make it through qualifying. Rebecca Marino lost to Arianne Hartono in the second round, while Marina Stakusic was beaten in round one by Celine Naef. 

Read also: Pre-US Open ATP Power Rankings – Alcaraz and Djokovic Look for Quick Bounce Back

On the main tours, Leylah Annie Fernandez’s final US Open prep did not go as planned, as she lost in the first round of the WTA 250 event in Cleveland in both singles to Ana Bogdan and in doubles with her sister Bianca Jolie.  

Carol Zhao qualified for the WTA 500 event in Monterrey, her first main draw of 2024, but lost her first-round match to Petra Martic in three sets. 

What to Watch: Canadian Cluster at US Open 

Six Canadians will be competing at the final Grand Slam event of the year, the US Open, which gets underway this week. 

All five Canadians in singles are in the top half of their respective draws and will all kick off their campaigns on Tuesday in New York. That includes the blockbuster showdown between Bianca Andreescu and No. 5-seed Jasmine Paolini, a third straight meeting a major for the pair. 

Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, and Leylah Annie Fernandez are all competing in singles at the US Open. 

Click here to read the full US Open preview.

The doubles draw features a round-one blockbuster between the only two Canadians in the women’s draw, with Gabriela Dabrowski kicking off her title defence in New York against Fernandez. 

Dabrowski is the top seed with Erin Routliffe and will face off with Fernandez and Yulia Putintseva in the first round in New York. Fernandez and Putintseva recently reached the WTA 1000 Cincinnati final, where they lost to Routliffe and Asia Muhammad. 

Routliffe defeated Fernandez late in 1000-level events twice this summer, also beating the Montrealer and her sister in the Toronto semifinals with Dabrowski. 

Read also: Pre-US Open WTA Power Rankings – A New York Breakthrough on the Horizon?

Shapovalov is the lone Canadian man playing doubles, teaming up with Soonwoo Kwon. They open against Flavio Cobolli and Dominic Stricker and could face sixth seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the second round. 

Under the Radar:  

It has been a busy month in Canada with ITF events and national championships taking place. 

Last week, the host nation cleaned up at an ITF W35 event in Saskatoon, with local favourites claiming the titles. Kayla Cross won her first professional singles title, defeating fellow Canadian Mia Kupres who won the doubles with Ariana Arseneault. 

Click here to read the full Saskatchewan recap.

The U16 and U12 junior nationals wrapped up last week and this week is all about the U14s. 

Click here to read the U16 and U12 event recap.

Click here to read the U14 event preview.

There is also a J300 ITF junior event in Repentigny this week, the highest-tier junior event in Canada on the calendar. Click here to read the Repentigny preview.

This week also has the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships on the calendar. The massive event is taking place across various clubs in Toronto. Click here to read the Masters Nationals preview.

Elsewhere in the world of tennis, Carson Branstine and Cleeve Harper both picked up titles on the ITF circuit.  

Branstine was the second seed in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia and claimed her third ITF singles title of the year with a straight-set with over local favourite Lola Radivojevic. The Canadian lost just one set in the tournament, in the semifinals against fourth seed Tatiana Prozorova. 

Harper picked up his second title of the year, winning the doubles at the M25 in Santander, Spain with Inaki Montes de la Torre. Despite being unseeded and needing to survive a match tiebreak in the first round, the Canadian-Spanish duo did not drop a set from the quarter-finals onwards, including wins over the third and second seeds before capping it off with a victory over Raul Brancaccio of Italy and Sergi Perez Contri of Spain in the final. 

Wheelchair tennis will be in the spotlight this week as the tennis event at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris get underway on Friday. Rob Shaw will be competing in the quad division and is the only Canadian to qualify for Paris. 

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.