Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo made the most of the Madrid Open’s last moment to beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.
Diallo entered the main draw to replace Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who quit before the match.
Diallo didn’t face a breakout point and won 86% of his first-place score. He switched all four rest opportunities and scored 19 points on his return.
It was a strong response after falling 6-3, 7-6 (6) from Croatia’s Borna Coric in the final round of Wednesday’s qualifying match.
Diallo will next face a companion of Lucky Loser Kamil Majchrzak, who replaced two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz after the second seed of Espanyol on Thursday due to a muscle injury.
Laval, Quebec, seed plan to face the United States’ Ann Li later Thursday.
