Canada’s hopes were dashed at the ATP Montreal Masters on Wednesday when Flavio Cobolli knocked out Olympic medalist Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2.
The Montreal-born mixed doubles bronze medalist with Gabriela Dabrowski fell in 66 minutes to the Italian, who finished second in Sunday’s Washington final.
The exit marks the end of the local competitors, as Vašek Pospíšil quit after three matches with back pain against Washington champion Sebastian Korda.
Auger-Aliassime never found his rhythm and went down a double break in the second set after securing the first for 33rd-ranked Cobolli.
“Congratulations to Felix on the medal,” said the winner, adding: “I had a perfect match today. I don’t know how I did it. I was just trying to fulfill my dream.”
Two-time Canadian semifinalist Gael Monfils was eliminated 6-3, 6-3 by qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The Australian failed to hold out for the match and led for the set and 5-1, but advanced two games later as his French opponent made a long comeback.
Ben Shelton survived a trick finish to beat tricky doubles partner Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
The 11th-seeded American, who reached the semi-finals last week in Washington, could only laugh out loud at match point as Bublík raced to reach a drop shot.
The colorful Kazakh knew he wouldn’t get there in time, so he deftly threw a racquet under the falling ball on the run before it landed, causing a reverse drop shot over the net into Shelton’s court.
The maneuver was of course illegal, Shelton won the match with a huge smile after 89 minutes with nine aces among his 27 winners. Bublík finished with the same number of unforced errors.
“But it shows what skills he can do. That was a funny moment in the match that we shared – he’s the only person to do something like that.”
Shelton said waiting for his chances was key that day: “It was important for me to stay patient the whole time. He’s a guy who gets a lot of balls back.”
Tommy Paul made a quick turnaround from Paris as he moved from clay to hard court with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) win over Luciano Darderi. “It was a solid match, the level went up in the second set and we played longer points,” said the winner. “I felt more normal on the court. It’s a hard transition.”
