Felix Auger-Aliassimeâs run at the French Open ended on Wednesday in Paris after dropping a 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6 quarterfinal match to Italian Flavio Cobolli.
The Montreal native, ranked No. 4 in the tournament, began strong by winning the first set and was up a break in the second as he lead 3-1.
But Auger-Aliassime couldnât hold off the No. 10 player in the end.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka wasted a lead of a set and two breaks to lose 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to Diana Shnaider in the women’s quarterfinals.
The four-time major winner led 4-1 in the second set and was two points from victory when serving for the match at 5-4 before completely collapsing against a player appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“Well, honestly I am speechless. Super happy,” Shnaider said. “I feel like I was trying to focus point by point. Not thinking about the score. She is the world No. 1, so I just trying to do my best. I just had to fight for every point.”
Sabalenka stood still and screamed loudly after losing a point to fall 0-30 down in the sixth game of the decider and, although she saved two match points at 0-40 down, she lost the match when she sent a shot into the net. In all, she lost 12 of the last 13 games.
Earlier, Wednesday, Maja Chwalinska extended her remarkable French Open run by beating No. 22-seeded Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 (3), 6-3 Wednesday.
For Sabalenka, her struggles were reminiscent of last year’s final against Coco Gauff, when she remonstrated loudly, shouting to herself and glaring at her team box before losing to the American.
Sabalenka had already looked agitated when serving for the first set but still looked in control as she served for the match in the second, holding a 30-15 lead.
But Shnaider, who was already on her best run at a major, broke Sabelenka before taking complete control.
Sabalenka looked increasingly frustrated as the third set wore on, and when she missed a volley at the net in the fourth game of the decider she crouched and rested her head on her racket for a few moments.
The momentum had changed and the Belarusian was unable to find a way back.
“Well, honestly I am speechless. Super happy,” Shnaider said.
“I feel like I was trying to focus point by point. Not thinking about the score. She is the world No. 1, so I just trying to do my best. I just had to fight for every point.”
Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and American partner Evan King advanced to the mixed doubles final at the French Open with a 7-5, 6-7 (6), 10-5 victory over Croatia’s Nikola Mektic and American Asia Muhammad.
The unseeded Dabrowski and King will face Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the final. The top-seeded Italians dispatched Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the other semifinal.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is also playing women’s doubles at the Grand Slam event with Brazil’s Luisa Stefani. The fourth seeds have reached the semifinals in that draw and will next play the top-seeded duo of Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova and American Taylor Townsend.
