Alexis Galarneau Narrowly Misses French Open Main Draw Spot

Canada’s Alexis Galarneau narrowly missed reaching his first Grand Slam main draw after falling 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to Italy’s Federico Cina in the third round of French Open qualifying Thursday in Paris.

The 19-year-old Cina converted five break points compared to Galarneau’s three, securing his spot in the main draw for the first time at a Grand Slam.

Galarneau, 27, from Laval, Quebec, had been eliminated in the opening round of qualifying at Roland Garros in each of the past two years. He was the only Canadian to reach the third round of qualifying this year.

Meanwhile, five Canadians who had already qualified for the clay-court Grand Slam learned their first-round opponents in Thursday’s draw.

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the men’s fourth seed, is set to play Germany’s Daniel Altmaier on Monday. Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was scheduled to face Australia’s James Duckworth on Sunday. Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ontario, will take on either a qualifier or lucky loser.

On the women’s side, ninth seed Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario, will meet Czech Nikola Bartunkova on Sunday. The 24th seed Leylah Fernandez, from Laval, Quebec, will play Alycia Parks of the United States on Monday.