On Tuesday 22 April Gabriel Diallo ended his campaign at the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open, bowing out in the second round of qualifying. Borna Coric sent him packing in a well-fought two-set battle. Seven days later, the Canadian is celebrating the best result of his career at a Masters 1000. He has now sealed his passage to the last sixteen in the Caja Magica by defeating Britain’s Cameron Norrie. In the same tournament.
Sometimes, tennis is like that. On Tuesday, Yoshito Nishioka had to give up his place in the tournament because of an injury. Gabriel benefitted from the withdrawal by earning a place in the main draw. He then took down Zizou Bergs in round one, before luck crossed his path once again. He was due to face none other than Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, but that match was not to be. Majchrzak, who replaced the injured Spaniard, fought to the bitter end but Diallo was enjoying himself too much to stop; he won his second-round match in three sets. For a place in the last-sixteen, he next played Cameron Norrie, a former member of the top 10 who is currently struggling with his game and after a series of injuries finds himself ranked at number 91. Garbriel Diallo may have felt he was riding his luck, but he beat the Englishman in three sets to progress to the first Masters 1000 round of sixteen of his career. Two years ago Jan Lennard Struff became the first ‘lucky loser’ to reach the final in the Spanish capital, Diallo is now looking to emulate the German.
His streak of three straight wins is his longest of any main draw in 2025. The former finalist in Almaty enjoyed his best result in a Grand Slam last year when he won three qualifying matches before also defeating Jaume Munar and Arthur Fils, who found themselves on the receiving end of the potent serve he is able to unleash partly thanks to his 6’ 8” frame; undoubtedly one of his biggest weapons.
Gabriel speaks perfect English, French, and Russian and can get by in Spanish. His partner is from Barcelona and he has picked the language up from her. He was full of praise for Madrid, as he explained, in Spanish: “I really like the food, I really like the city, the conditions are perfect for my game”. He is also a big fan of Real Madrid football club: “If I had to choose famous people to go to dinner with, I’d choose the Real Madrid squad. If I had to choose just a few I’d say Carletto, Jude Bellingham, Tchouameni and Mbappe”. Interestingly, his Ukrainian mother was a professional handball player, a sport Gabriel also played until he was 14.
The Canadian, who is also a piano lover, will now be bidding to extend his recital in Madrid by one more game. Play it again, Diallo!
