It was a star-studded lineup that took to the courts at IGA Stadium on Wednesday for second round action at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
But a few of the top stars in this year’s draw didn’t shine for long as top-seed Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Nick Kyrgios, whose hot run of form continues, and second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz was also eliminated in his Montreal debut by American Tommy Paul. Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman, and Grigor Dimitrov were also sent packing in round two.
Kyrgios, who has now won 14 of his last 15 matches, will face countryman Alex De Minaur in the Round of 16 on Thursday while Paul will take on Croat Marin Cilic.
AUGER-ALLIASIME’S IMPRESSIVE START
Much to the delight of his hometown fans, Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime didn’t suffer the same fate as his fellow seeds.
The 22-year-old played a solid match to defeat Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(6), 6-4 to collect his third career victory in Montreal and set up a third-round meeting with Brit Cameron Norrie in a rematch of last week’s Los Cabos semifinal contest which the Brit won in three tight sets.
A HAPPY HOUR MOMENT
Understandably, tensions were high in the stadium during the Auger-Aliassime match with fans on the edge of their seat waiting for their favourite to give them a reason to stand and cheer at the top of their lungs.
Did he ever deliver with a bullet crosscourt backhand passing shot to win the opening set and send the crowd into an absolute frenzy. It felt like a rock concert on Centre Court at that moment. See you tomorrow, Félix!
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