Gabriel Diallo defeats Francisco Cerundolo to reach Almaty final | ATP Tour

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Diallo dreams on! Canadian sinks Cerundolo to reach maiden Tour final in Almaty

23-year-old will break Top 100 of PIF ATP Rankings for first time on Monday

October 19, 2024

Gabriel Diallo racked up a double milestone on Saturday at the Almaty Open.

The Canadian sunk Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2 at the indoor hard-court ATP 250 to reach his maiden ATP Tour championship match. With his comprehensive 68-minute triumph against the fourth-seeded Cerundolo, Diallo also guaranteed he will on Monday break into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.

“A lot of joy, a lot of excitement. A lot of relief as well,” said Diallo, when asked about his emotions after his semi-final win. “I’ve been playing some good tennis and I’m very happy to see that the results are going my way. It means the world to me, especially here. I’ve got family members here that I’ve never met before, so obviously it’s pretty cool that they came and I’m having a great week here. I’m extremely happy.”

Diallo converted all three break points he earned against Cerundolo, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The big-serving 23-year-old, who had not reached an ATP Tour quarter-final prior to this week, has risen 31 spots No. 87 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Almaty run so far.

“It’s super special. Obviously the Top 100 is something that you try to break. It’s a pretty big milestone,” said Diallo. “It gets you into the bigger events and the Slams, which is always more fun, more stimulating. I’m super happy for myself and for my team. We’ve been working really hard to get where we are right now, and hopefully it can be the beginning of something special.”

After becoming the seventh Canadian to reach an ATP Tour final this century, Diallo will take on third seed Karen Khachanov or Aleksandar Vukic in Sunday’s championship match in Kazakhstan.