Quebec’s Gabriel Diallo added a very special name to his list on Thursday when he defeated the ATP’s 25th-best player, Daniel Evans, in the second round of the tournament in Surbiton, England.
Evans, a 33-year veteran who was a finalist at the last National Bank Open, attempted to defend his title won last year in front of his home crowd in London. However, the first seeded opponent was defeated by the 21-year-old in straight sets 7:5 and 6:2.
– Also read: Tennis: The match ends for Gabriel Diallo
This is the most significant win of Diallo’s career, ranked 146th. He had only won against top 100 tennis players twice, having beaten James Duckworth (62nd) in August 2022 and Jordan Thompson (80th) last May.
In the quarterfinals, the Montrealer meets the Austrian Jurij Rodionov (134th). Diallo had knocked out another local favorite, Liam Broady, in the preliminary round.
Canadian Frank Dancevic won the 2008 Surbiton tournament.