Canada’s Diallo loses to Coric in Madrid Open qualifying match

Gabriel Diallo, of Canada, reacts during his Davis Cup qualifying tennis match against Fabian Marozsan, of Hungary, in Montreal on Sunday, February 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MADRID — Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo came up short in his bid to claim a main-draw spot in the Masters-level Madrid Open tennis tournament after a 6-3, 7-6 (6) loss to Croatian veteran Borna Coric in Tuesday’s final round of qualifying.

Coric saved all nine break points he faced while breaking Diallo twice on three chances.

Diallo was up 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak before surrendering three straight points, including a double-fault on match point.

While Diallo would have been a consideration for a “lucky loser” spot — awarded to a high-ranking player who loses in the final qualifying round when a player in the main draw withdraws — that door appeared to be closed when Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands were awarded the spots vacated by injured players Roberto Carballes Baena and Jordan Thompson.

Diallo, ranked 78th in the world, made it into two straight Masters-level main draws last month at Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami, losing to France’s Arthur Fils in the second round both times.

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal (18) and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., (29) both have byes in the first round of the main draw in Madrid as seeded players.

In the women’s draw, 25th-seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., has a first-round bye while 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., continues her comeback from injury when she faces American McCartney Kessler in a first-round match on Wednesday,