Gabriel Diallo is a pure athlete and a lover of all issues sports activities. If he was not a tennis participant, likelihood is that he can be competing professionally in one other sport.
But the 21-year-old has already discovered early success on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Standing tall at 6’7” and boasting a big wingspan, the Canadian is consistently trying to make use of his heavy supply and firepower from the baseline to impose his will on opponents. If a ball is left in the midst of the court docket, search for Diallo to crush a forehand winner.
Diallo stated he will get his athletic talents from his mom, who performed on the Ukrainian nationwide handball crew and talked about that his dad, who hails from Guinea, is “more into academics” and works in pc programming. Off the court docket, Diallo enjoys watching school soccer, basketball, and baseball. He grew up a multi-sport athlete, however there was one which he loved greater than others.
“I was six years old so I don’t quite remember, but from what they tell me tennis was the sport where I had the most fun,’ Diallo told ATPTour.com. “I ran track, did gymnastics. People always tell me I should play basketball. But the two I mainly played were tennis and handball, which is also a fun sport to play.”
Following a breakthrough season on the ATP Challenger Tour, Diallo introduced his determination to forego his senior 12 months on the University of Kentucky and switch skilled. The two-time ITA All-American was a quarter-finalist on the 2022 NCAA Singles Championships and helped the Wildcats attain the programme’s first NCAA crew championship look. With simply 4 on-line school courses remaining, Diallo will quickly graduate with a finance diploma.
College Standouts Take The Challenger Route To Success
The Montreal-native can also be soaking in classes discovered on the court docket. Despite having received only one Challenger-level match earlier than the 2022 Granby Challenger, Diallo triumphed on dwelling soil, the place he defeated China’s Shang Juncheng within the remaining to gather his maiden Challenger title.
“I was a wild card in Granby and I just took it match by match,” Diallo stated. “It was so fun to play there because it’s an hour from where I live. My buddies were there, the crowd really embraced me. I was playing free and motivated. It was the best experience of my pro career so far.”
Gabriel Diallo celebrates his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Granby, Canada. Credit: Sarah-Jade Champagne
He didn’t cease there. Diallo was additionally a finalist on the Fairfield Challenger and reached the semi-finals on the Calgary Challenger in November. After tallying a 17-7 Challenger match file in 2022, Diallo introduced his determination to show professional.
The World No. 211 labored with Felix Auger-Aliassime’s father, Sam Aliassime, till Diallo moved away to school. Now Diallo is coached by Canada’s former Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau, who helped him put collectively an offseason coaching block to organize his physique for full-time work on the Tour.
“Since now that tennis is my job, my body is going to be my engine so I need to take care of it,” Diallo stated. “The biggest thing I worked on in the offseason was my fitness. When it comes to tennis, I worked on my serve, my transition, trying to play aggressive, taking the ball early and coming to net.”
Gabriel Diallo collects the trophy on the 2022 Granby Challenger. Credit: Tennis Canada Media Centre
A pivotal second for Diallo was the 2012 Australian Open remaining between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, which the Serbian received after 5 hours and 53 minutes. That Melbourne thriller impressed the Canadian to chase his goals of competing on the sport’s most prestigious occasions.
“I remember watching Novak vs. Rafa at the 2012 Australian Open over and over again,” Diallo stated. “I don’t know if I watched it live, but I kept watching the highlights. I was like, ‘That looks so fun’. They were going at each other, a huge crowd, night session, almost six hours. I bought Novak’s outfit and I was playing with his racquet, trying to play like him.”
Now is the time to catch the rising star Diallo in motion on the Challenger circuit earlier than he too rises to the most important levels of the ATP Tour.
Gabriel Diallo 🤝 @felixtennis
The 20-year-old turns into the youngest 🇨🇦 Canadian champion on Challenger Tour since Felix Auger-Aliassime in Tashkent 2018!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/Nrz5amiqR5
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 28, 2022
Source web site: www.atptour.com
