Three Canadian kids prevail in New York as promising teenager Félix Auger-Aliassime makes his junior Grand Slam debut

NEW YORK – Hopes and dreams were permitted at the US Open for the Canadian contingent – until brutal weather conditions, a back injury and a freak locker-room accident combined to eliminate all the contenders in singles.

And on Labour Day Monday, Daniel Nestor was ousted from the doubles.

So it’s down to the kids. And this year, there’s a intriguing crop.

Here's a peek at how they looked as they populated the back courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Monday.

But there is already one major casualty; the player coming in on the biggest high, 15-year-old Bianca Andreescu, is out.

The Mississauga, Ont. native won the prestigious Canadian junior championships in Repentigny, Que. on Saturday, a tournament considered the big tuneup for the US Open juniors and that has a long list of illustrious past champions.

She defeated Great Britain’s Katie Swan and countrywoman Charlotte Robillard-Millette, seeded No. 5 and No. 7 respectively here in New York, en route to that title. She also reached the doubles final.

It was a quick turnaround, and Andreescu, normally very consistent, went down in a flurry of errors in a 6-1, 6-1 loss to American Raveena Kingsley.

The rest of the Canadians, most of whom went a long way in Repentigny as well, managed to get through.

Robillard-Millette, who lost to Andreescu in the Repentigny final, struggled with the heat and humidity with the help of a lot of ice packs but prevailed over Olivia Tjandramulia of Australia 7-6 (7) 3-6, 6-3.

Toronto lefty Denis Shapovalov, who had a tough draw in Repentigny (he lost to eventual champion Mate Valkusz of Hungary in the second round) came to New York early to win two qualifying matches just to get into the main draw.

Despite a shoulder issue that first cropped up two weeks ago at another big junior event in Maryland, Shapovalov upset No. 12 seed Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam 6-3, 6-4 to advance.

The Canadian junior who has had the most attention lately, 15-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime, also arrived in New York straight from the finals in Repentigny, where he lost in three sets to Valkusz. Not that this meant the chair umpire could pronounce his name correctly; the first part came out sort of like, “Ogger”.

He landed at noon on Sunday, practiced at about 3 p.m., and didn’t have a lot of time to adjust. But he managed, defeating Tung-Lin Wu of Taipei 6-2, 6-4.

Auger-Aliassime had a cheering section, which at first seemed like a group of random Quebecers to him but who ended up being a group of people he had actually met before – something he didn’t realize until after the match when they greeted him. There were the parents of a dentist he had in Quebec City, who also worked with his father Sam. There also were tennis supporters who had been in Repentigny last week. His family, including sister Malika, was also on hand.

“I think the transition went well. At the beginning of the match, I kind of felt like I didn’t have a lot of rhythm. The surface was different, the atmosphere was different, being in a first Grand Slam was different,” he said. “But I adjusted well.”

Unseeded, he has a tough draw now. Auger-Aliassime’s second-round opponent on Tuesday will be American Tommy Paul, an 18-year-old who turned pro this year who is the No. 5 seed in the juniors, but has already been in New York for awhile because he won three matches and qualified for the main draw in the main event two weeks ago.
Paul won the French Open juniors back in May.

Auger-Aliassime’s doubles partner Shapovalov, who was aware of Auger-Aliassime’s draw but oblivious to his own, is confident his pal can prevail.

“The kid is very good. I don’t have a doubt that he can beat Tommy,” Shapovalov said.

Sixteen months older, he feels he can legitimately call a just-turned-15-year-old ‘kid’. “I don’t see why not. The kid’s playing great. He has so much confidence too, going into that match. And Tommy Paul has the pressure,” he added.

Shapovalov plays an Puerto-Rican born American named Ulises Blanch Tuesday; Robillard-Millette will play Russian Elena Rybakina.

Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov also will team up for their first-round doubles match. Robillard-Millette, seeded No. 1 in the girls’ doubles with Brit Katie Swan, also will be in action as will Alejandro Tabilo, and the all-Canadian team of Andreescu and Katherine Sebov.

The big stars are gone, but Canada is still representing.