Quebecer Gabriel Diallo scored his first career victory at the Australian Open, needing five sets to beat Luca Nardi in more than four hours on Monday evening in Melbourne.
The 86th player in the ATP rankings had a good second half of the match to win 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 and 6-2. The 23-year-old gave almost nothing to his Italian rival in the last two sets while showing himself to be imperial on serve.
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Diallo only faced one break point in these two sets. His 19 aces in total, combined with Nardi’s 13 double faults (83rd), allowed him to gain the upper hand. He broke his opponent’s serve seven times.
The challenge was great for the Montrealer for his very first match in the main draw of the initial Grand Slam of the year. He had stopped at qualifying in the previous two years, but his rank guaranteed him a place this time.
Diallo is already a seeded player in the second round. The Russian Karen Khachanov (19th) had no trouble getting rid of the French Adrian Mannarino earlier in the day. Their duel is scheduled for Tuesday.
Khachanov was a semi-finalist in Australia in 2023 and reached the fourth round last year.
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