Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of a Grand Slam in the first round for the second time in a row.
The Montrealer’s inconsistent season continued with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 loss to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik of Czechia on Tuesday at the US Open.
The 19th-seeded Auger-Aliassime also lost in the opening round at Wimbledon before rebounding to reach the bronze-medal match in men’s singles at the Olympics in Paris.
But Auger-Aliassime entered the season’s final Grand Slam on a down note after he lost his opener at his hometown National Bank Open and then fell in the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open on a missed call on match point against Jack Draper. Under ATP rules, the controversial call could not be reviewed.
On Tuesday, Auger-Aliassime had just two break-point opportunities the entire match. He had 10 double faults and 36 unforced errors.
It marks the second year in a row Auger-Aliassime has been eliminated in the first round at Flushing Meadows. He hasn’t advanced to the third round since a semifinal run in 2021.
Mensik has reached a career-high No. 64 in the rankings. He reached the third round at the US Open last year.
The four other Canadians in the singles draw — qualifier Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que. — all play their first-round matches later Tuesday.
