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TORONTO — The afternoon before the biggest match of his career on home soil, Gabriel Diallo had an hour-long practice that more than 50 fans watched, many of them holding giant tennis balls and hats for him to sign, others recording his monster serve on cellphones they later used for selfies with Diallo, who joined them with a smile. 

“You can beat him tomorrow!” one fan yelled, referring to Diallo’s upcoming third-round tilt against American Taylor Fritz, the world No. 4. Diallo glanced at the fan before returning to the baseline to pummel another ball. 

The 23-year-old from Montreal is the lone Canadian man standing in the singles draw of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, and on Friday he’s set to play Fritz for the second time in his career. It’s not just a rematch of the five-set heartbreaker Diallo lost to Fritz at Wimbledon earlier this month, it’s also just Diallo’s second match against a Top-5 player since he began his meteoric rise in the sport in the last calendar year. 

Diallo’s mom and dad will be in the crowd Friday night, plus a bunch of buddies and family friends — “basically everyone,” he said, sweat-soaked while leaving the practice court, once he’d smiled for a final selfie and signed his last autograph.  

The world No. 36, Diallo isn’t used to so many fans watching him train, or being seeded No. 27 and earning a bye to the second round the way he did here. But the only Canadian to win his first singles match at the NBO is enjoying the support that comes with being a hometown player, and he’s excited for what will be his first-ever centre court night match at home.  

“I think all of us Canadians are very grateful and happy to play here, even small things like practices,” Diallo said as he made his way through the crowd, with a lot of fans looking in his direction — at six-foot-eight and carrying a giant red Wilson tennis bag, he stands out.

Later Thursday, Diallo and fellow Canadian Alexis Galarneau lost in their opening doubles match, and after that Diallo has 24 hours of rest before going toe to toe against Fritz, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. It’s a rematch of Round 2 at Wimbledon, where the Canadian produced what he said was “arguably” the best match of his life when he took the American to five sets.  

After taking out Diallo, the 27-year-old Fritz made a run to Wimbledon’s semifinal. He cracked the U.S. Open final and the ATP finals last year, and his 10 ATP titles include one Masters 1000 championship win, in 2022 at Indian Wells. 

“I’m expecting a good match from his part — I mean, he’s a very consistent player,” Diallo said of Fritz. “We had a great match at Wimbledon, so I’m looking forward to try and replicate that kind of level and hopefully give myself some chances.”

Diallo can give himself even better chances against the world No. 4 this time. His debut against Fritz was a five-setter on grass, and both the duration and surface are still relatively new to Diallo. Friday will mark their first meeting on Diallo’s favourite surface, and in the best-of-three format he’s most accustomed to. 

“These courts are really fast,” said Diallo’s coach, Martin Laurendeau, who communicates with his player during training in a hybrid of French and English. “He’s grown up on fast courts and so he favours these conditions… Fast balls and fast courts. Those are the best conditions of play for him, so he really looks forward to whoever’s out there under those conditions. He really believes in himself more than anywhere else.”  

Both Diallo and Fritz are known for big serves — their first meeting featured a whopping 53 aces — and powerful games overall. 

“It’s going to be about being in sprint mode and just being able to put together a combination of shots quickly and efficiently, over and over again,” Laurendeau said. “That’s the kind of approach Gabe’s going to need. I think if he reproduces the same level as Wimbledon, he’s in there. And then you never know. That match came down to a few points, and probably this match will, too.”  

Diallo says winning two sets off Fritz at Wimbledon did more for his confidence than any other accomplishment he’s pulled off this season, which includes wins at all three Grand Slams to date, and taking home his first ATP 250 title. 

“Losing a tough match like that against a player like him, for where I am in my career, it’s super beneficial. It was great to go back and watch some tape and learn a lot from what I did well in the match and things that I could have improved,” Diallo says. “Hopefully I can tweak some things and put on a good match again.”

He points to aggressive play as one key. “I took him to five sets by backing myself from the first point to the last point, so I’m going to replicate more or less the same thing, and I look forward to it,” he said.  

And if Diallo’s down, don’t count him out. His first match here against wild card Matteo Gigante saw him down a break in the second set, then battle back to force a tiebreak that he trailed 2-4 before an eventual 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory. 

“A lot of times this year he was down in a set, or down match points or it looked like it was not going to be his day, but he managed to get a lot of wins by competing really well,” Laurendeau said. “That’s been his trademark.” 

He applauds Diallo for his even keel approach to the game, and for taking accountability when things don’t go his way. That outlook, plus Diallo’s physical skill, is what stands out most to the long-time coach.  

“His game is very disruptive,” Laurendeau says. “His identity is to play big, to serve big and to use his power. He’s got long levers and when he connects, they’re powerful shots. He’s physically imposing, he’s a great athlete, and his goal is not to get into these arm wrestles, it’s about him disrupting the opponent, not giving rhythm and trying to dictate and trying to play under four or five shots.

“His game, when he’s on, he doesn’t give the opponents time to really get into the match, and that irritates them and throws them off.” 

That’s tougher to do against an opponent like Fritz, but earning more opportunities against top players is only going to help Diallo learn to play his best against the best. “The more he plays those guys, the more he’ll find some openings and the better his chances of taking them down,” Laurendeau said. 

Canada’s top two players were already taken down in this tournament on the men’s side, with both Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov upset in their opening matches. 

Diallo wishes it was different, because he knows it’s good for the NBO to have a lot of Canadians competing at home, and he likes to see his fellow countrymen winning.

“Things have turned out the way they are,” Diallo said. “But I’ll try my hardest to carry the flag behind me.”