TORONTO — Canada's Liam Draxl did his best to work the home crowd in his first career ATP Tour singles match Monday night at the National Bank Open.
The result nearly matched his enthusiasm.
Draxl came out firing in a rollicking first set before dropping a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta at Sobeys Stadium.
"I got a little tight after winning the first set," Draxl said. "I just wanted to get over the finish line so badly."
The 23-year-old from nearby Newmarket, Ont., seemed to be enjoying the centre court experience at the outset of the first-round encounter on a hot, clear evening in northwest Toronto.
Draxl delivered an emphatic jumping fist pump after winning a point in the second game. He often raised his arms to extend the crowd applause. Winners were sometimes followed by an index finger pointed skyward.
The panache was backed up by a powerful serve and clever shotmaking. Carreno Busta, who won this event in 2022 at Montreal, seemed unsettled in the early going before eventually finding his rhythm.
A former top-10 player now ranked 93rd in the world, the Spaniard employed a more patient style in the second set and it paid off as Draxl's unforced error count ticked higher.
Carreno Busta picked up a break for a 4-3 lead and converted on his first set point to pull even.
Muscle tightness in the right shoulder area clearly bothered Draxl at times. The world No. 113 frequently grimaced after serves and took a medical timeout after giving up another break early in the third set.
The Canadian had some opportunities in the decider but a double-fault on break point gave Carreno Busta a 4-3 advantage. He went on to close out the match in two hours 21 minutes.
"He's obviously a tremendous player and been on the tour a long time," Draxl said. "I haven't been on the tour at all. So I think it was a little experience-based for me, for sure."
Earlier, Canadian qualifier Dan Martin's unexpected journey to the opening round of the Masters 1000 tournament ended when he dropped a 6-3, 6-0 decision to Spain's Jaume Munar.
Martin, ranked 560th, was given a wild-card entry into the 32-man qualifier and upset Japan's Taro Daniel over the weekend to secure his first ATP Tour main draw appearance.
The 26-year-old from Laval, Que., struggled with his serve against the 51st-ranked Munar, who won the last 10 games of the 70-minute match.
"It was the first time playing in front of such a big crowd," Martin said. "Honestly, I'm happy with how I played and look forward to seeing how this season goes for me."
Martin played college tennis at Dartmouth and the University of Miami and is now a regular on the Challenger circuit. He was preparing for another stop on the lower-level tour when he got word of the wild-card invite.
"I found out relatively late," he said. "I was actually away playing, practising for another tournament. I drove 14 hours to Illinois, hoping to play a tournament. Then I found out about the wild card, so I had to drive another 10 hours back.
"So that was interesting. Honestly, when I found out, I was super excited and honestly, it's a life experience."
Martin surprised the 156th-ranked Daniel in a rain-delayed three-set match that was completed Sunday morning. The Canadian was serving at deuce when play was postponed Saturday at 5-5 in the third set.
When the match resumed, Martin held serve and then broke Daniel for the win.
"Obviously a difficult night of sleep, just kind of visualizing the end of the match, the next couple points," Martin said. "But yeah, I really visualized a lot and it worked out well."
Martin saved his first break point against Munar for a 3-2 lead before things unravelled. The Canadian's serve was broken five straight times by the Spaniard.
Martin will still pocket a cool US$23,760 for the biggest payday of his pro career.
"This is definitely big," he said. "It's going to be helpful for at least a couple months, for sure."
With all 32 seeded players idle, Monday's schedule at the newly expanded tournament included several qualifiers, wild-card entries and lucky losers.
Among the notable results, Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate beat Brazilian teenage star Joao Fonseca 7-6 (5), 6-4 and American Mackenzie McDonald topped Belgium's David Goffin 6-4, 6-4.
In the late match, Canadian wild-card entry Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., was scheduled to meet Arthur Rinderknech of France.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
