Canada's Galarneau nearly pulls off shocking win in Australian Open qualifying match
Held lead in 3rd and deciding set against 28th-seeded Lukas Klein of Slovakia
Alexis Galarneau was one game away from pulling off a major upset Monday night in the Australian Open qualifying tournament, but 28th-seeded Lukas Klein of Slovakia spoiled the Canadian's thunder Down Under.
After losing the opening set of the best-of-three match 6-4, the 25-year-old from Laval, Que., bounced back with a 6-3 win to force a third and deciding set.
Galarneau, who was five inches smaller and 69 ATP ranking spots below the six-foot-three Klein, was serving for the match at 5-4, but ran out of miracles and dropped the next three games to lose 7-5. The match took one hour 58 minutes to play.
Klein finished with six aces, four double faults, 37 receiving points won and 13 service games won, compared to Galarneau who had two aces, two double faults, 31 receiving points won and 13 service games won.
Klein will now play Eliot Spizzirri of Stamford, Conn., who outlasted Alexander Blockx of Belgium 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 earlier on Monday.
Players need to record three consecutive wins to claim one of the 16 remaining spots in the Australian Open's main draw, which gets underway Sunday at Melbourne Park.
Draw to access French Open ticket sales
French Open organizers are introducing a draw system to access ticket sales for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
The French tennis federation said Tuesday it faces an "ever-increasing demand" and that the trial of a random draw for the general public should help reduce waiting times and ensure a fairer access to seats.
"Finally, this new sales system will make it possible to combat fraud and the purchase of tickets by bots," organizers said.
Registration for the draw will run from Jan. 27 to Feb. 9. Being selected in the draw will guarantee access to ticket sales, but not necessarily the right to receive tickets for a specific day or court, organizers said.
The French federation has also limited the maximum number of tickets one can buy for the main courts to four per person.
The French Open takes place from May 25-June 8 at Roland Garros stadium in Paris.
With files from The Associated Press
