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Diallo had 21 aces in the four-hour, nine-minute match, while Nardi managed nine.

While there wasn't much to separate the players in the first three sets, Diallo took over in the fourth as Nardi had 13 double faults and saw his first serves drop in winning percentage.

Diallo finished with more unforced errors (8-5), but did better on break points, winning seven of 16 compared to Nardi's four of 15. Diallo won 66 points off his return, compared to his opponent's 57.

Diallo will now face the 31st-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the second round.

Earlier in the day, Montreal's Félix Auger-Aliassime cruised into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.

The 29th-seeded Canadian, who won the Adelaide International last week for his sixth ATP title, controlled the match, firing 19 aces to Struff's 15 and committing just one double fault to Struff's four.  Auger-Aliassime won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and broke Struff eight times.

Auger-Aliassime will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.

Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., will face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in his first-round match, while in women’s singles, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino will play Britain’s Katie Boulter in the first round.

Leylah Fernandez, of Laval, Que., teams up with Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok to play Australia’s Talia Gibson and Maya Joint in women’s doubles. Ottawa’s Gabriella Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe, the No. 2 seeds, will face American duo Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk in the opening round.

This report by °µÍø½ûÇø was first published Jan. 13, 2025.