Lucky Loser? Diallo on turning chance into triumph in Madrid

When the Mutua Madrid Open draw was made 10 days ago, Gabriel Diallo's name was not even in it. The Canadian had lost in the second round of qualifying to Borna Coric and his clay-court season was off to a rocky start after failing to qualify in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.

Fast forward a little more than a week and the 23-year-old is into the quarter-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time — riding a wave of momentum sparked by an unexpected second chance. When Carlos Alcaraz withdrew, a lucky loser spot opened up, and Diallo got the call.

“I was out of the tournament, then I got a call saying I could take someone's spot,” Diallo told ATPTour.com. “I kind of knew what I had to do, what I did wrong in my last match and I improved a lot in that part. It does free you a bit, with it being a second [chance]. Luckily, I've been able to put good matches together.

“I am very excited. It is my first time at this stage, even back to the third-round stage, so I’m super delighted with the way I'm competing. The pieces are coming together and hopefully we can keep going. It has been a whirlwind period.”

Two years ago, Jan-Lennard Struff made history as the first lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 final, ultimately falling to Alcaraz in the Madrid final. Now, Diallo is just two wins away from matching that remarkable feat and he has someone close he could turn to for support: fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Auger-Aliassime reached the final in Madrid last year and has been a good friend of Diallo’s for more than 12 years.

“With Felix, we’re very close. We've known each other since I was 10 or 11. I even trained at his dad’s house for a couple of years, so we’ve got a good relationship,” Diallo said. “With Denis [Shapovalov], we met during the 2022 Davis Cup — when we won it — so I always keep up with the Canadian guys. It’s a special bond, not that many of us, but a really good group.

“I haven’t spoken to Felix yet during my run here, but maybe I’ll give him a ring, see if I can make the final too!”

Masters 1000 Lucky Loser Semi-Finalists

Diallo came to Madrid with a modest 6–8 record on the season and ranked outside the Top 75. He is projected to rise 25 spots to No. 53 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and he's not done yet. He’ll face Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday evening for a shot at the semi-finals. If he pulls off another upset, Diallo would join Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov as the only Canadians to reach the final four in Madrid.

Still, the 23-year-old is staying grounded.

“It can be a bit of a shock, but it’s also a reward for all the hard work I’ve put in since college, then playing Challengers,” Diallo said. “You dream of these big events. Now that I’m here, I just want to take my chance — you don’t get many — and hold on as tightly as I can.”

Diallo saved three match points against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round to record the biggest win of his career and also defeated Top 100 players Cameron Norrie, Kamil Majchrzak and Zizou Bergs in Madrid. In Musetti, he will face a player in form. The Italian is set to rise inside the Top 10 for the first time on Monday, having recently reached the final in Monte-Carlo.

But Diallo is keeping the focus purely on himself.

“I just keep doing me. Obviously, it's super motivating to play in these events and in big stadiums with great crowds. But at the end of the day, I am just focusing on my own progress with my team. It’s been a tremendous year so far, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Lucky Loser: Explaining The Greatest Term In Tennis