ALMATY/STARNBERG, October 19, 2024
Gabriel Diallo has reached his maiden final on the ATP Tour and is the only seventh Canadian this century to do so. The 23-year-old Montreal native advanced to the championship match of the Almaty Open following a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Saturday afternoon.
Diallo, who knocked out No. 2 seed Alejandro Tabilo in the previous round, struck five aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to succeed in one hour and seven minutes.
First ATP Tour Final feels
Gabriel Diallo defeats Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-2 to reach his first final at this level #AlmatyOpen pic.twitter.com/m6Smh15ZgQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 19, 2024
The World No. 118, a three-time champion on the Challenger Circuit, will be lowest-ranked finalist in the history of the ATP Tour indoor event in Kazakhstan. By reaching the final, Diallo is projected to break into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.
“It would be nice to keep going, keep climbing the rankings but we keep a big focus on the process for sure,” Diallo said.
Off the court, Diallo is also enjoying a special week in Almaty. “Here I met my cousin that I never met in my life before,” he said. “My cousin lives here in Almaty and has been coming to my matches, so it’s pretty special. And I think it’s something that helped me throughout the week.”
On Sunday, Diallo will play No. 3 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, who rallied past Alexander Vukic of Australia 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes.
