MONTREAL – For his major debut in the main draw of an ATP tournament, Laval resident Alexis Galarneau caused a sensation. He faced Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, ranked 19th in the world, before losing the flag 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the National Bank Open on Tuesday on a cool and cloudy afternoon at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.
The 23-year-old Galarneau showed plenty of guts against a very experienced player, even allowing himself a 5-2 lead in the second set.
Anyone who took advantage of a pass from the promoters to find themselves in the big leagues has nothing to be ashamed of for their performance, far from it. He has shown great qualities that will allow him to continue his progress. He also received loud applause from the spectators when he left the center court.
The day was not really favorable for the Canadian players. Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov and British Columbia’s Vasek Pospisil were also banned.
All hopes in the Canadian camp now rest on the shoulders of sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has a date with the winner of the first-round clash between France’s Benoit Perre and Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Shapovalov and Australian Alex de Minaur completed their match at the end of the afternoon, which was interrupted yesterday due to rain. The two players were level at 3-3 in the second set tiebreak and de Minaur needed just one minute and 52 seconds to claim victory, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Pospisil lost to American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4.
In the next round, Paul will have a big challenge to face as he has a date with the young rising star of men’s tennis, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
Now demoted to world No. 147, Pospisil gave up a break from the start in each of the two sets and was never able to raise the bar.
Out of form, the 32-year-old veteran was sidelined for nearly three months this spring with an elbow injury. And since returning to the game, he’s been content to play the Challenger. In four tournaments, he was limited to two wins. He was also defeated in his first qualifying match at Wimbledon.
Even though he claims to be fully recovered from his elbow problem, he admits that he has lacked consistency.
“I think I hit the ball well, but I still haven’t found a rhythm during the matches,” Pospisil explained in a press conference. Even before the tournament I had problems physically, maybe that’s the reason.
“Before this week, I didn’t feel confident, I wasn’t in the right rhythm. I knew it would be difficult this week because I haven’t been well on the training pitch for the last few days.
He says he trains very hard on a daily basis, but he has to be patient, confident that he will find his rhythm.
It’s not all over for him this week in Montreal as he is also entered in the doubles with Italian Jannik Sinner. He will then compete in the Vancouver Challenger and try to qualify for the United States Open before representing Canada at the Davis Cup in Spain.
Pospisil’s best run in Montreal dates back to 2013 when he reached the semifinals, losing to compatriot Milos Raonic. Since then, he has only reached the first round of the tournament on Canadian soil twice (2015, 2016).
