Day 2 Shocks at the Canadian Open: Ons Jabeur and Felix Auger-Aliassime Among the Unexpected Casualties After they…
Ons Jabeur and Felix Auger-Aliassime were some of the top names shockingly eliminated on Day 2 of the 2024 Canadian Open. The event is taking place for WTA players in Toronto and for ATP players in Montreal. It will conclude on Sunday, August 11.
The opening round matches of the tournament are underway with Taylor Fritz, Holger Rune, Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka among others progressing to the next round.
Fans were also hoping to see former World No. 3 Milos Raonic compete at the event for the first time since 2019. However, the Canadian veteran withdrew due to a shoulder injury.
With high tennis action taking place in Canada, lets take a look at some of the opening round upsets at the event including home favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Trending#1 Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabuer suffered a 6-3, 6-1 loss against Naomi Osaka in the opening round. It took Osaka an hour and 12 minutes to oust Jabuer and earn her fifth win over a Top-20 player in her first season after a maternity break.
Jabeur has had an injury-marred season with persistant problems in her right knee. It forced the two-time Wimbledon finalist to withdraw from this year’s edition of the grass Major. She also did not compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Tunisian bounced back with a Round-of-16 finish at the Citi Open but was unable to move past the four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who will next play Elise Mertens in the second round at the Canadian Open.
#2 Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime flew the Canadian flag high with a bronze medal win in mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski at the Paris Olympics. However the home favorite was upset by Flavio Cobolli in the first round at the Canadian Open.
Cobolli registered a landslide 6-3, 6-2 victory over the World No. 19. The Italian fired three aces while Auger-Aliassime served none. His serve also fell short against Cobolli with five double faults and a 46% win ratio on first serve.
Cobolli will next clash with Arthur Rinderknech for a spot in the third round.
#3 Denis Shapovalov
Another home hope at the Canadian Open, Denis Shapovalov was defeated by American Brandon Nakashima in the opening round. Shapovalov had come into the match after a quarterfinal run at the Citi Open. However, his campaign was cut short right in the beginning by Nakashima 6-4, 7-5.
In a post-match press conference, Shapovalov refelected on his game and said:
“I think I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think I’m pretty tough on myself, especially playing here, the tournament where I want to play well and go deep and yeah, it’s frustrating to lose a match like this where I felt like I had more chances and I was holding pretty easy and I just kind of gave him both sets.” [at 1:20]
Nakashima will next play Tommy Paul in the second round.
#4 Jack Draper
Jack Draper clashed with Jordan Thompson for a spot in the second round. Both players were evenly matched and it was expected to be one of the tightly contested matches.
However, Thompson enjoyed a convincing 7-5, 6-2 victory over the 22-year-old. This is his first win after cracking the Top 30 in the rankings.
Notably, the 30-year-old became only the fourth player in history to make it into the Top 30 for the first time at the age of 30 or above. Addressing the feat, he said (via ATP Tour):
“It’s pretty special, 30 on 30. I’ve been working my whole life to keep pushing forward. So, hopefully, I can keep going. Top 30 is a good milestone for me, but hopefully I can keep pushing on.”
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