Gabriel Diallo is the new breakout star of Canadian men's tennis

TORONTO — Gabriel Diallo is a towering presence, which would still be true if he weren’t surrounded by children. Before the National Bank Open begins in earnest, Diallo and Canadian doubles legend Daniel Nestor are headlining the Cashmere Tennis Clinic, a seminar designed for youth tennis enthusiasts. It is a leading ATP 1000 event and the National Bank Open serves a dual purpose as an annual celebration of Canadian tennis.

Diallo is the country’s newest breakout star, boasting a blistering serve that conjures up memories of Milos Raonic.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer to get a glimpse of Diallo’s rapidly improving skill set as he’s leading a group of exuberant kids through a series of drills. The 21-year-old Montreal native is decked out in black Adidas gear and standing at 6-foot-8, he forms a larger-than-life presence. Diallo appears to be eminently relatable — after all, he’s not much older than his students — but with rock star looks and endless charisma, combined with a lethal, vertical game, you get the sense we’re witnessing the infancy of a star.

And during this Sunday morning, there are some mildly unfortunate outcomes attached to the growing demands on Diallo’s increasingly limited time. Minutes before he’s expected to take part in scheduled interviews, Diallo’s team whisks him away from a small contingent of reporters.

Nestor, a veteran of the Canadian media circuit, is happy to oblige and offer his scouting report instead.

“I really like his game,” Nestor said to Yahoo Sports. “He's got a big game. Obviously, he's a big guy but the main thing is he moves very well, which is critical nowadays. He has big strokes on both sides, he gets a lot of pace on both sides, which isn't easy to achieve. And then he follows up with a huge serve, which is one of the most integral things in tennis today.”

No stranger to the big stage

It’s been a whirlwind year for Diallo, who elected to forgo his final season at the University of Kentucky to turn professional in December, a month after he was part of Canada’s Davis Cup-winning team. Diallo is still intent on graduating with a finance degree but he’s ascending through the ATP rankings at a dizzying rate.

A year ago, Diallo was ranked No. 669 in men’s singles. Ahead of this year’s tournament, Diallo is ranked No. 141 and as a wild-card entry, there’s an inherent curiosity surrounding him that perhaps is no longer afforded to the rest of his countrymen.

Diallo starred for a powerhouse Kentucky team and with former NCAA standouts Ben Shelton and Christopher Eubanks among the breakout stars of the summer, he’s on the verge of joining his peers at this new level.

“NCAA is very competitive nowadays — well, it has been for a while,” Nestor said. “I think his experience at the highest levels, playing in the biggest moments [helps]. You might not know tennis and you stand here and watch the pros play side by side, and you think they're all really good players but then watching them in the biggest moments and the critical moments of a match, then you realize who's able to play their best level and that's usually an attribute of the top players.”

Diallo earned a wild-card entry in the tournament and is squaring off against world No. 21 Daniel Evans, who captured the Washington ATP 500 event earlier this month. It promises to be a tough test, but it’s also time to see if Diallo can capitalize on his alluring potential.

A match to remember

After being ousted in his doubles match Monday alongside fellow Canadian and dear friend Alexis Galarneau, Diallo’s singular focus is against Evans.

Playing at the grandstand court, Diallo isn’t the centre of attention but he’s still a curious figure to the fans in attendance. Diallo takes the court to a warm welcome but many of the fans are still trying to figure out the mysterious Canadian youngster they’ve heard good things about.

“The Canadian’s huge!” one fan exclaims.

Diallo is dialled in, belying any signs of nerves or anxiety in the biggest singles match of his career.

And without further ado, Diallo rips a 190-km serve, followed by a 206-km rocket to send Evans flying across the court to win the opening two points, cruising to an easy win on service. The opening set evolves, then evidently shrinks into a mini-game: who will get broken first? Diallo’s serve is venomous and though he’s quick and agile, he’s relying on his velocity to beat Evans. After losing the second game, Diallo wins the third, punctuated by a 205-km serve.

Ultimately neither player can break serve, heading into a tiebreak after an hour of hotly contested play.

During the fifth point of the tiebreak, Diallo blasts one of the points of the day, painting the line with such accuracy that Evans accidentally drops his racket. Evans hits the next point into the net and the crowd begins to roar, then he skies a multi-point rally over the baseline, then returns a 216-km Diallo serve into the net. Three points later, a rattled Evans double faults, giving Diallo the first set as a delayed crescendo rises through the grandstand.

Through no fault of Diallo’s, the moment is short-lived: fans are leaving the grandstand in mass exodus to watch Felix Auger-Aliassime on centre court. It’s Auger-Aliassime’s 23rd birthday after all, which turns out to be a bad omen as he’s upset in straight sets by qualifier Max Purcell.

It’s so oddly quiet during the second set and there’s a delayed reaction as Evans double faults again to give Diallo the first game. Diallo then takes a commanding 2-0 lead as Evans can’t get to his 206-km serve, which paints the corner of the service box.

It looks like Diallo is going to pull away but Evans, who is engaged in a raving dialogue as a form of self-motivation, fights back and eventually breaks Diallo, tying the set at 3-3. Diallo isn’t fazed and he breaks Evans right back, letting out his first audible scream of the match, then wins his next service game, going up 5-3. The moment isn’t too big for him, but can he close it out?

Evans comes roaring back, once again tying up the second set to get things back on serve. Diallo is locked in, winning the next two points and yelling “COME ON!” after going up 30-0 before winning the game. And now Diallo is serving for the match, on the precipice of a breakout moment, court placement be damned.

Diallo capitalizes on a series of unforced errors from Evans and can sense that his first ATP victory is moments away. And during a contested nine-point rally, Diallo forces Evans to stretch in the ad court, sending his return over the baseline and out. Taking a second to breathe, Diallo lets out a thunderous cry, hitting a ball into the crowd before meeting Evans at the net. It’s a strong performance from the burgeoning star, with 28 winners versus 13 unforced errors, landing his lethal first serve at a 64% clip.

Throughout the week, Diallo has been equal parts gregarious and measured, but for the first time in days, he’s outright sentimental in his post-match interview with Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas.

“Words cannot really describe how I feel right now. I hope that everyone on this planet can feel what I'm feeling, this level of happiness,” Diallo said. “But obviously it doesn't come without hard work behind the scenes. People don't know us as tennis players, we travel, we lose first round, we go to crazy places losing first round, it's so tough.

“But it shows that hard work eventually pays off and hopefully this can be the start of something.”

'My life already changed'

Diallo strides to the podium and 30 minutes removed from the biggest win of his career, his endless charm and charisma take over. He admits he was frustrated because he was up a break three times during the match, but he relied on his instincts to overcome his nerves, knocking off a veteran in the process.

He’s no longer the anonymous Canadian and on a night where his countryman Auger-Aliassime stumbled on centre court, he is the story and the moment of a tournament that showcases the best of what this country has to offer. Diallo won’t have much time to process the moment with a date against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday — the Australian is one of the most agile players on tour and appears well-equipped to deal with Diallo's blistering service game.

Can Diallo sense that his life is about to change?

“Every week you go into a tournament hoping that your life is going to change,” Diallo said after a brief, joyful laugh. “But at the end of the day, you know, it's just sports. And, obviously, I try to make it not as big a deal as it is.

“But, obviously, it's a pretty big deal. I mean, my life already changed just playing the match with the atmosphere that was there. And we were both able to play a pretty competitive match. It wasn't one-sided at all. So I was proud about that. And I think both of us were able to give a good show to the crowd, and that was what I was preaching the whole week.”