Tennis·Updated
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of the U.S. Open after dropping a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 decision to 18-year-old Jakub Menšík of the Czech Republic in first-round action Tuesday in New York.
Fellow Canadians Shapovalov, Diallo, Fernandez, Andreescu play later Tuesday in N.Y.The Canadian Press
· Posted: Aug 27, 2024 1:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was seeded 19th at the U.S. Open, has had a string of tough results since finishing fourth in men’s singles and teaming with Gabriela Dabrowski to win mixed-doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of the U.S. Open after dropping a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 decision to 18-year-old Jakub Menšík of the Czech Republic in first-round action Tuesday in New York.
Menšík scored his sixth break in the final game of the match, with Auger-Aliassime committing his 36th unforced error on match point.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 19th in New York, has had a string of tough results since finishing fourth in men’s singles and teaming with Gabriela Dabrowski to win mixed-doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics.
He was drummed out in the first round of his hometown tournament at the men’s National Bank Open, then fell in the third round of the Cincinnati Open when his British opponent, Jack Draper, was given the call on match point despite the ball seeming to hit the ground on his side of the court before going over the net.
In other first-round men’s action Tuesday, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was scheduled to face Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands and Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was set to meet Spain’s Jaume Munar.
In women’s action, 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., had a first-round meeting with Russia’s Anastasia Potapova and 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., was set to face fifth-seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the evening session.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime knocked out of U.S. Open in 3 sets:
Felix Auger-Aliassime flames out of U.S. OpenMontreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was upset by 18-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open.
No. 1 Swiatek pushed in 1st-round victoryTop-ranked Iga Swiatek fought through a tough first-round match at the U.S. Open, edging Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (6).
The 2022 champion was one point away from being forced to a third set when Rakhimova took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker. But Swiatek recovered and won the next five points, finishing the match when her opponent missed a backhand.
Swiatek improved to 22-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams, including 6-0 at the U.S. Open.
Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 seed on the men’s side, followed Swiatek onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for his opening-round match. It was his first action since word emerged that he had failed two drug tests in March but escaped suspension.
No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 25 Jack Draper moved into the second round.
Osaka makes quick work of OstapenkoTwo-time champion Naomi Osaka made an impressive return to the tournament by beating No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.
Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 champion in Flushing Meadows, needed only 64 minutes to oust Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion. It was the kind of performance that was standard from Osaka when she reached No. 1 in the rankings and won four Grand Slam titles between 2018-21.
But she had missed large gaps of time since, first for mental health breaks and then after giving birth, and just this month posted on social media about the struggles of not playing as well as she used to after failing to qualify for the tournament in Cincinnati.
She smashed 19 winners against only five unforced errors Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Danielle Collins’s singles career at Grand Slams ended when the No. 11 seed was upset by fellow American Caroline Dolehide 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. Collins, 30, has announced she plans to retire at the end of the season. She is still entered in doubles at Flushing Meadows.
With files from The Associated Press
