Felix Auger-Aliassime has Montreal bragging rights.
The fifth-seeded Auger-Aliassime beat fellow Montrealer Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday.
The Canadians had a long embrace at the net after Auger-Aliassime served out to win.
It was the first career ATP Tour meeting between two players who grew up together. Diallo is 24 and Auger-Aliassime is 25, though the latter has been on the pro circuit for a longer time after starting to make headlines as a teenager. Auger-Aliassime is ranked 12th in the world after reaching the semifinals of the US Open last month.
Diallo, the world No. 41, played NCAA tennis at Kentucky and has started to rise the past couple of years.
Auger-Aliassime converted four of 12 break points, while Diallo was one-for-four. Auger-Aliassime also had the better percentage of first serves in (78 to 67).
Auger-Aliassime, coming off a championship run at the European Open in Belgium, will next face Marin Cilic of Croatia.
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