A skeleton Canadian crew in the US Open juniors as Félix Auger-Aliassime leads the charge

NEW YORK – Denis Shapovalov, the No. 4 junior boy in the world, is not in New York.

Charlotte Robillard-Millette, the No. 9-ranked junior at the end of the 2015 season, also is not in New York.

Bianca Andreescu, the world No. 4 coming into this season and currently at No. 11, is here and is the No. 7 seed in singles. We'll see Monday if she's at full health; the 16-year-old withdrew before her semi-final match at the big warmup tournament outside Montreal Friday, citing an adductor strain. But coach Nathalie Tauziat (the former world No. 3 and Wimbledon finalist) told Eh Game that it was more precautionary than anything, with the final junior major of the season coming up.

Benjamin Sigouin, the No. 9 seed on the boys's side and a quarter-finalist at the French Open juniors in early June, went out in the first round Sunday.

With the legion of premature exits from the Canadians in the big tournament (a notable exception is Gabriela Dabrowski, who is into the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna of India), it's up to Andreesu and 16-year-old Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime to hold the flag high and salvage some national pride from what has not been a Canadian Slam to remember.

Seeded No. 6, Auger-Aliassime dispatched American Nathan Ponwith 6-2, 6-4 Sunday to get his second US Open junior tournament off to a good start. "My opponent has already been in the top juniors, among the top Americans, so I expected a tough match, but I think I dominated the play," Auger-Aliassime said.

Ponwith is nearly 2 1/2 years older than Auger-Aliassime and has already begun his college career with the standout program at the University of Georgia after being the No. 1-ranked American junior boy and the No. 1 college recruit. That says quite a bit about Auger-Aliassime's level; it also gives you some insight about why Shapovalov took a pass. The top Canadian junior will surely be at the Davis Cup tie in Halifax in 10 days, and he plans a tour of the U.S. Challenger circuit after that.

He has won a major junior title; there's little to prove and other than being able to soak up the atmosphere at a Grand Slam tournament, not all that much to gain.

Auger-Aliassime faces a tough opponent in the second round Tuesday in Alexei Popyrin of Australia, who fought Shapovalov to the end in the third round of the French Open juniors this spring before bowing out 13-11 in the third set.

In the absence of Shapovalov, he and Auger-Aliassime can't defend their doubles title from a year ago. Auger-Aliassime and Sigouin are seeded No. 3 in the boys' doubles. Andreescu is playing with top British prospect Katie Swan in the girls' doubles.

Sigouin reached the Wimbledon junior doubles semifinals with Louis Wessels of Germany, narrowly losing to the eventual champions.

His singles match Sunday was a struggle. After winning the first set easily, Sigouin suffered some serving woes in the second and eventually lost 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 to Louis Tessa of France.

The atmosphere will be different for sure," Auger-Aliassime said of life without Shapovalov, laughing. "We played nearly all the last Grand Slams together and we had some great experiences in doubles. But I think I'll have a good week with Benjamin, who is a very good player."

There was one other player, Jack Mingjie Lin, in the junior boys' qualifying, but he lost in the second and final round. There were no other junior girls. As for Charlotte Robillard-Millette, her junior ranking is down to No. 60 while her WTA Tour ranking stands at No. 719. She turns 18 in January, so technically she could still play the juniors next year, if she chooses to.

Robillard-Millette's junior efforts were a study in frustration this year as she lost to 15-year-old Olga Danilovic of Serbia at both the French Open and Wimbledon. She turned professional this year even though with Tennis Canada's substantial support, there was no immediate need to.

The Blainville, Que. native told Eh Game she was focusing on pro events. But it wasn't a box-office summer in that regard. Robillard-Millette had some good doubles results but she lost in the first round of the singles main draw in all four pro events she played. In her last tournament a month ago in Gatineau, Que. (a $25,000 ITF event Andreescu won; the pair won the doubles title together), she was defeated by fellow Canadian junior Isabelle Boulais, who is 16.

Auger-Aliassime is no longer the wide-eyed kid who showed up in the Big Apple as a 15-year-old a year ago. It was all fresh and new then. Now, he's among the favourites after reaching the junior French Open singles final (and holding match points).

Andreescu will play American Caty McNally Monday. McNally, already ranked No. 36 in the ITF juniors even though she's just 14, reached the final of the junior doubles at Wimbledon in July.