Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, returns to Pedro Martinez, of Spain, at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Indian Wells, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mark J. Terrill
ROME – Canadian tennis hopes took a tumble at the Italian Open on Friday as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Gabriela Dabrowski, and Bianca Andreescu were all eliminated, marking a disappointing day for the Maple Leaf contingent.
Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime was ousted after dropping a second-round match 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin.
Auger-Aliassime had a bye in the first round of the clay-court event, while Popyrin defeated his compatriot Christopher O’Connell after coming through the qualifying rounds.
Popyrin, ranked 77th in the world, continued his momentum by upsetting No. 10 Auger-Aliassime in an exhausting three hour 17-minute battle.
Auger-Aliassime struggled with his serve, landing his first service only 61 per cent of the time. He also committed nine double faults and gave his opponent 16 break point opportunities, of which Popyrin converted three.
Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani were upset in women’s doubles play, falling 2-6, 6-2, 10-8. to American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Czechia’s Marie Bouzkova.
Dabrowski and Stefani were seeded sixth in the tournament.
The third Canadian to exit the tournament was Mississauga’s Andreescu, who was dealt a swift defeat at the hands of Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech player scored a 6-0, 6-1 victory in a match that lasted just 55 minutes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
