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He wasn’t supposed to be there at all.
Instead, Canada’s Gabriel Diallo is off to the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells after beating China’s Zhang Zhizhen 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) on Thursday in California.
Diallo, 23, had lost his final qualifying match earlier in the week but was granted entry into the main draw as a lucky loser.
And the Montreal native, ranked 88th worldwide, made the most of it against the 51st-ranked Zhang.
In an evenly contested match, Diallo fired two aces, won two of nine break points and committed just three double faults en route to victory.
He’ll next face 21st-ranked Frenchman Arthur Fils, who received a first-round bye.
Diallo won the lone previous match between the two at last year’s U.S. Open.