Gabriel Diallo vs Alexander Zverev: Rising Canadian eyes major upset opportunity

Gabriel Diallo is preparing for the biggest match of his career as he gets set to face Alexander Zverev on Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.

The 24-year-old Canadian has never practised with or played against Zverev, the world No. 3 and a two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion. Still, Diallo says the opportunity represents exactly why he chose a professional tennis career.

“I'm very grateful that I'm in this position to play in a Slam, one of the biggest courts against one of the best players in the world. So it's all a bonus,” Diallo told ATPTour.com.

“We train hard and we work hard to position ourselves to play in those kind of matches. We start playing tennis, to play those kind of matches. So I'm really excited and looking forward to playing.”

Zverev enters the match as a favourite to win, having reached the Australian Open final last year and consistently remained among the game’s top players.

He has failed to reach the fourth round in Melbourne only once since 2019, and Diallo is well aware of what he is up against.

“He's very consistent. First of all, just from the back and in terms of a performance standpoint, he's been in the Top 10 for I don't know how many years,” Diallo said.

“And then, obviously in terms of his game, he's got a great serve, great backhand, solid forehand”, he added.

“So I'm going to have to get creative. I'm going to have to take it to him if I want to give myself some chances to win,” he said, adding: “At the end of the day, I think for me it's another match, it's another learning experience.”