Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario and Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Quebec have both won their first round matches at the French Open in upset fashion. On Sunday, Mboko, the 120th ranked player in the world in women’s tennis, defeated the 45th ranked player, Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-1, 7-6. Then on Monday, Diallo, the 54th ranked player in the world, defeated the 18th seed, Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Mboko, who recorded her first ever grand slam singles win, was the better server as she had seven aces compared to four for Sun. It should be noted that Sun had seven break point chances, but did not break Mboko once.
Diallo won at the French Open for the first time in his career. He broke Cerundolo four times in 11 opportunities. Diallo is one of two Canadian men in the second round singles draw of the French Open. The other is Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario, the 27th seed, who smoked Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 in one of the finest matches in his entire career.
Mboko will next face Eva Lys of Germany, in their first ever meeting. Diallo is playing Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, in their first ever meeting. Shapovalov will next play Filip Misolic of Austria for the first time.