Gabriel Diallo gave Karen Khachanov a battle, but the Canadian couldn’t pull off the upset at the Australian Open.
The 23-year-old Montrealer lost 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to the No. 19 seed from Russia in the second round of the season-opening Grand Slam on Thursday.
It was a rematch of October’s Almaty Open final, which Khachanov won in three sets as Diallo played in his first career ATP Tour championship match.
Khachanov also beat Diallo, ranked 86th, in the first round of the National Bank Open last year in Montreal.