Diallo needs to find another gear to keep magical US Open run going
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Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo will look to continue his improbable run through the US Open draw on Saturday when he takes on No. 14 seed Tommy Paul.
"I'm aware that I'm facing the hardest opponent I will face so far this summer so I'm going to have to go another gear if I want to give myself a chance to win," the 22-year-old from Montreal told TSN.
In fact, Diallo has never faced a player ranked as high as Paul.
"On paper I don't have much to lose," he says.
Diallo, who arrived in New York ranked 143rd in the world, actually owns a winning record (4-3) against top-30 players in his young career, including Thursday's four-set upset over No. 24 seed Arthur Fils. Last year, Diallo defeated No. 18 Lorenzo Musetti in Davis Cup play and handed Dan Evans defeats when he was ranked 21st and 25th in the world, including one in Toronto at the Masters 1,000 level.
"I just try to take my game, as much as I can, to them," Diallo said of his mindset. "They maybe don't know much about my game. I believe I have maybe a little bit of a unique game, because I play very aggressive. I try to put as much pressure on, maintain the rally, and take the rallies and matches the distance."
Diallo, who stands 6-foot-8 and moves deceptively fast, came from behind to win his first two matches in US Open qualifying last week. He actually faced two match points in the second round.
In Tuesday's first-round win over Spanish veteran Jaume Munar, who is 84th in the ATP rankings, Diallo dealt with cramping caused by nerves and had to tune out a heckler before serving out his first Grand Slam match win.
"I never stopped believing in myself even when it didn't look like the chances were in my my favour," Diallo said. "I competed and I'm super proud of myself for always giving myself a chance to win."
Diallo is winning a lot this summer with a 17-3 record since getting back on hard courts. Most of those matches came on the Challenger Tour, including a title in Chicago.
"I've been very consistent with the level that I brought match in, match out," Diallo said. "The confidence is high as it should be."
This is Diallo's first ever US Open main draw appearance and only his second Grand Slam after he qualified and lost a five-set match to Kei Nishikori in the first round of the French Open in May.
In Thursday's win, Diallo seemed relaxed from first ball to match point.
"Gabriel was focused and on track, but I saw him smile several times," observed coach Martin Laurendeau. "Even on match point, he aces Fils, but it was barely a let. You could barely hear it and he thought it was amusing. He goes out and fires another big bomb. He's enjoying every moment. When he has to dig down he does. When he's behind or when he gets broken, many times you'll see him break right back. He's super competitive but he doesn't lose track of the fact that he's embracing this moment, every minute of it."
Diallo is the lowest-ranked Canadian man to reach the third round of the US Open since then-No. 151 Laurendeau made it to the fourth round in 1988.
With this run, Diallo is up 40 spots in the live ATP rankings to No. 103. The University of Kentucky product is putting himself in a position where he won't have to qualify to get into the Australian Open next year.
Diallo is guaranteed $215,000 by reaching the third round in New York. His total career prize money before the US Open was $524,687.
"We've been working hard to get him where he belongs and that's well inside the top 100," Laurendeau said. "He was a student at Kentucky just 18 months ago so he's still learning. He's still very green, but he's a quick learner and he wants it really bad. He's had a meteoric rise, really."
But all the matches this summer have taken a toll on Diallo, who is hampered by a thigh issue and has his leg covered in tape. Although, he insists he has a lot left in the tank. Diallo isn't ready for this magical journey to come to an end.
"It's pretty special and hopefully it can be the continuation of something special," he said.
Diallo enjoyed hearing Canadian fans belt out the national anthem when he arrived at Stadium 17 for Thursday's match. He is the only Canadian to win a match in singles at the season's final major. As a result, he's in the spotlight like never before.
"My phone's been blowing up a little bit so I try to just close it and stay present," Diallo said. "But the support, I definitely feel the support. I have millions of messages from friends, family members. It means a lot to me and it motivates me."
No qualifier has reached the fourth round of a major this season. Diallo and his team are leaning into the underdog angle.
"I don't think there's going to be that much challenge," said Laurendeau when asked about the matchup against Paul, "because everything is a bonus right now. It's a matter of keeping the momentum and to keep enjoying playing great tennis at one of the biggest tournaments in the world."
Paul, meanwhile, wasn't asked about Diallo during his post-match news conference on Thursday. The New Jersey native led Max Purcell 7-5, 6-0, 1-0 when the Australian retired from their second-round match.
"This is going to be a different level of an opponent compared to Fils," pointed out analyst Jesse Levine, who called Diallo's second-round win. "He's going to be more physically taxed against Paul. He's gonna make you play a lot more balls and he handles the pace a lot better than Fils does. He also returns a lot better than Fils."
Diallo only faced three break points against Fils.
"There's gonna be more pressure on the Diallo service game," Levine predicted. "But if things are firing on all cylinders for Diallo, he's not a fun player for anyone to play against ... He swings much more freely against these big, top-50 opponents and with his game, when he's on, he can compete with anyone in the world."
On Saturday, Diallo will make his debut at Louis Armstrong Stadium, which is the second biggest court on the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center with a capacity of 14,053. The Labour Day weekend crowd should be behind Paul, who is one of four Americans left in the men's singles draw.
"It actually fuels him up," said Kentucky Wildcats coach Cedric Kauffmann, who guided Diallo through three years of NCAA play and will be on hand to support him on Saturday. "The bigger the stage, the better he'll play."
Diallo played in plenty of hostile environments during his time in the SEC.
"Some stuff I can't even say on camera," Diallo noted with a grin. "In college tennis, well, everything is allowed basically. They can talk to you during the point. I've had some fraternity guys looking my name up and saying some information about me in the middle of the point."
The time in Lexington, KY., helped Diallo develop into a top prospect. He was a two time all-American in singles and helped the Wildcats reach the NCAA final in 2022. Kauffmann now sees a more well-rounded player, who is coming forward more behind a big serve, which is turning into an even bigger weapon.
"It's more consistent," Kauffmann notes. "He's hitting his spots, which is something you talk about with the details between the pros and the college players. He hit some wide serves on the deuce side on Thursday that were incredible. They're just kind of coming off the court. Nobody can stop that, even Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz cannot stop that serve."
Djokovic and Alcaraz crashed out of the US Open the last two nights. If Diallo gets past Paul, he could face Sinner, the World No. 1, next.
"I think his final product is a top 20, top 30 talent," Kauffmann said. "This is just the start and for him and it's a huge step. Now he knows that he belongs there and let's see how far he can get."