Auger-Aliassime out of Montreal with back injury

Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s second seed, was scheduled to face French qualifier Titouan Droguet in the second round on Wednesday night but said he started getting pain in his back on Monday. 

“It was quite sudden,” Auger-Aliassime said in a press conference. “I was training here for two weeks, and I had zero problems. So, it happens sometimes. It's happened to me in the past. But the timing is tough, right, for it to happen here. Then I was lucky to get an extra day to prepare, as I was ready to play Tuesday night,” he added.

“I thought that day by day things would get better. I tried to go on court today. I tried to warm up, and then I basically couldn't serve, really. So, yeah, it was impossible for me to think about even competing.”

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His withdrawal capped a tough last couple of days for Canadian players at the prestigious Masters 1000 event. Fellow Montrealer Gabriel Diallo had to retire against Luciano Darderi in the second set of Tuesday’s night session because of injury. And earlier on Tuesday, Denis Shapovalov retired against Zach Svajda while trailing 3-0 in the third set.

The NBO would have been Auger-Aliassime’s first tournament since Wimbledon last month and first since cutting ties with longtime coach Frederic Fontang. He entered with a career-high ranking of No. 4, coming off quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon. 

"The decision wasn't complicated to make but very difficult," he explained. "From my experience, when I felt like I felt today, it wasn't going to go well on court." 

Auger-Aliassime and Diallo were also due to compete in the doubles together. 

Daniil Medvedev’s match against Botic van de Zandschulp will now take place on Centre Court to kick off Wednesday’s night session. Droguet, meanwhile, meets lucky loser Jaime Faria. 

Photo: Fabrice Michel/Tennis Canada