Montreal native Gabriel Diallo grew up watching countryman Milos Raonic hammer aces and crush monstrous forehands. The eight-time tour-level titlist's explosive service motion and winding forehand assisted Raonic in becoming Canada’s highest-ranked player in history, climbing to No. 3 in 2016. Eight years on, the 22-year-old Diallo likes to study the 2016 Wimbledon finalist.

Though the six-foot-eight Diallo’s technique is uniquely different than Raonic’s, the principle remains the same: big man, first-strike tennis. The former University of Kentucky standout, who turned pro in December 2022, has found inspiration from watching the success of players such as fellow former collegiate player, 6’7” Christopher Eubanks, and 6’5” Raonic.

“Chris [Eubanks] is someone I’ve been compared to a lot, especially in college because I was very tall, very lanky,” Diallo told commentator Mike Cation at the Chicago Men’s Challenger. “Chris and I are both big servers and we look for our forehands.

“For me, the greatest to ever do it in terms of serve plus-one is Milos Raonic. I watched a lot of Milos growing up. I still watch a lot of matches from before, from now. I think watching those types of players is a real eye-opener for me.”

Diallo eight days ago won the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Chicago, where he fired 17 aces in the final to remain unbroken across five matches en route to lifting his third title at that level.

Gabriel Diallo is crowned champion at the Chicago Men's Challenger. Credit: Eduardo Cantu

The Canadian remembers having a lightbulb moment last year. It was not his Davis Cup win against Lorenzo Musetti or upset over Daniel Evans in Toronto. Instead, Diallo learned valuable lessons in a three-set loss to Eubanks at the hard-court Gwangju Challenger.

Eubanks arrived at the three-week South Korean Challenger swing following a quarter-final run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami, where the American secured his place in the Top 100. Two months after competing in intimate stadium courts in South Korea, the former Georgia Tech University star was competing on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

Eubanks captured his maiden tour-level title in Mallorca and reached the quarter-finals at the grass-court major.

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“I don’t think people realise the hard work he put in before,” said Diallo, the youngest Canadian in the Top 150 of the PIF ATP Rankings. “I remember when he had that run at Wimbledon, when I saw it, it made me think of three Challengers we played on hard courts in South Korea.

“I told my coach [Martin Laurendeau] after the match, ‘Boy, when he started to serve and hit his plus-one, there’s not much I could’ve done.’ It kind of also opened my eyes to where I could potentially be at his age, 25, 26. It’s a learning curve and I still have to dip my toes in the water. I’ve been on Tour for a year-and-a-half now.”

Diallo grew up a multi-sport athlete and though a handful of people told him that he should play basketball, drawing upon his height as an advantage, the World No. 141 enjoyed tennis the most. He ran track, did gymnastics and played handball, which his mother excelled in for the Ukrainian national team.

But the sport which Diallo began at age six now has him competing on a big stage in his home city. Diallo faces 16th seed Karen Khachanov in the Montreal opening round Tuesday.

Gabriel Diallo won’t be answering any questions about his blind rankings 😂#ATPChallenger | @TennisCanada pic.twitter.com/xddFtisUIa

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) January 25, 2024