TORONTO — Canadian qualifier Dan Martin's unexpected journey to the opening round of the National Bank Open ended Monday when he dropped a 6-3, 6-0 decision to Spain's Jaume Munar.
Martin, ranked 560th in the world, 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., was given the opening time-slot on centre court but 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."
In the evening session, Canadian wild-card entry Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., dropped a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
As a junior, Martin reached the final of the under-16 Canadian championship and took third place at the U18 national playdowns. He played college tennis at Dartmouth and the University of Miami and is now a regular at Challenger events throughout North America.
Martin, who played earlier this month in Laval, Granby, Que., and Newport, R.I., was preparing for another stop on the lower-level tour when he got word of the wild-card invite at the Masters 1000 event.
"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."
Over the weekend, Martin surprised the 156th-ranked Daniel in a rain-delayed three-set match. The Canadian was serving at deuce when play was postponed Saturday at 5-5 in the third set.
When the match resumed Sunday morning, 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."
On a hot, sunny afternoon at Sobeys Stadium, 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 51st-ranked Spaniard.
Munar, who won 86 per cent of his first-serve points, will next face 14th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. Martin, meanwhile, won just 40 per cent of his first-serve points.
"It's a new experience for me," Martin said. "So I'm really happy to have experienced it and played in front of a home crowd."
By reaching the first round, he'll pocket 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 rising 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 to meet Arthur Rinderknech of France.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
