Alexander Zverev rediscovers joy and a route to the National Bank Open final four
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CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko advances to NBO semifinals in Montreal
Victoria Mboko of Canada celebrates her win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during quarterfinal tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi MONTREAL — Two days after ousting top seed Coco Gauff in 62 minutes, there was no letdown for Victoria Mboko — even if she needed to dig a little deeper to keep her dream run alive. The Canadian teenage sensation booked her place in the National Bank Open semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Monday night. Mboko does it again! 💥 The Canadian wildcard is through to the semifinals in Montreal and the dream run continues🎾#NBO25 | @nationalbank — Omnium Banque Nationale (@OBNmontreal) August 5, 2025 The first set, despite her win, was messy and filled with errors for both players. The second got off to what Mboko called a 'slow, rocky start,' with the 18-year-old from Toronto down 2-0 and a break early. Then the momentum shifted. The rising star who rarely seems to lose finished strong, winning six straight games to close out the match. 'I was a fighter in that situation,' Mboko said. 'That moment was just pure fight-or-flight instincts. 'I really wanted to do the best I could to break her back, and I did everything in my power to stay in there and match her, match what she was producing.' Mission accomplished. She broke back in the fourth, sixth and eighth games while holding serve throughout. Bouzas Maneiro's backhand sailed long on match point, and Mboko dropped her arms and smiled in disbelief after 77 minutes on centre court at IGA Stadium. Then she ran to her handshake and blew kisses to the crowd while it celebrated with a standing ovation. 'So excited to be in a semifinal here, I want to thank everyone for your support once again,' Mboko, who trained in Montreal as a junior, told the crowd. 'It's been an unreal experience and I couldn't be more grateful.' Mboko is the first Canadian to reach the WTA 1000 event's semifinals since Bianca Andreescu's title run in 2019 — and the first to do so in Montreal in the Open Era. She's also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic's 2015 win in Toronto. And there's more: Monica Seles (1995) and Simona Halep (2015) are the only other women to make the final four after entering the tournament as a wild card. It's been a breakthrough year for Mboko, who has surged from outside the top 300 to No. 85 in the world rankings. That number is projected to climb to at least No. 48 after she boosted her record to 25-8 against higher-ranked players and 51-9 in all competitions. Mboko hit three aces and won 58.2 per cent of the points while converting five of nine breakpoint chances and saving three of five. The hometown favourite also won 16 of 20 points on the 51st-ranked Bouzas Maneiro's second serve. Beyond the second set turnaround, she also showed resolve in the first. At 2-2, Mboko fell in a 15-40 hole, but ultimately took the prolonged game thanks to five service winners, regularly opening points with 180-kilometre-per-hour strikes. 'I don't want to say there's really a secret,' Mboko said of pulling through when her back is against the wall. 'Being calm in such stressful situations is key to delivering what you want to do in those tight moments. 'The human reaction is always to tense up and act out, but I think if I project calmness and relaxness, I'm going to also have the same thing in my head … that's what's been helping me get through those tough and tight situations.' As the last Canadian remaining in singles, Mboko has made a name for herself at home, putting her powerful ball-striking on display in her first National Bank Open main draw. She will meet Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in Wednesday's semifinals. The ninth-seeded Rybakina — who knocked Mboko out in the round-of-16 at the D.C. Open in July — advanced after Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was forced to retire with a wrist injury while trailing 6-1, 2-1 earlier Monday night. The tournament, which runs through Thursday's final, is wide open after the top-five seeds failed to reach the quarterfinals. After two injury-plagued years, Mboko — who had shown promise as a junior — opened the season with a 22-match winning streak and captured five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour. She then qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open, reaching the third round, before stunning 25th seed Magdalena Frech in the first round at Wimbledon. And the upsets keep coming. In Montreal, Mboko has dropped just one set, rattling off wins over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, 23rd seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova and Gauff, the world No. 2. 'I was really happy to have won that day, but at the end of the day, I'm still in the tournament,' Mboko said of her milestone win over Gauff. 'It's not like I went to celebrate or anything. I was still locked in like I normally am in a tournament. You play a tournament because you want to win it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2025 Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Canadian teen Victoria Mboko advances to NBO semifinals in Montreal
Victoria Mboko of Canada waves to the crowd following her win over Coco Gauff of the United States during round of 16 tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi MONTREAL — Victoria Mboko keeps on rising. Two days after dispatching No. 1 seed Coco Gauff, the Canadian teenage sensation booked her place in the National Bank Open semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in women's singles action Monday night. Mboko upset Gauff in straight sets Saturday, winning the lopsided match in just 62 minutes. There was no letdown Monday, even if Mboko fought a little harder to pull out the victory. After taking a back-and-forth — and error-filled — first set, Mboko lost on serve in a sluggish start to the second set but broke back in the fourth and sixth games to take a 4-2 advantage. The 18-year-old from Toronto held serve and broke once more, with Bouzas Maneiro's backhand sailing long on match point to lift the fans out of their seats after 77 minutes. Mboko is the first Canadian to reach the WTA 1000 event's semifinals since Bianca Andreescu's title run in 2019. She's also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic's 2015 win in Toronto. Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 51st, was also playing in the quarterfinals of a 1000-level tournament for the first time. In a breakthrough year, Mboko has surged from outside the top 300 to a career-high No. 85 in the world rankings. That number is projected to climb to at least No. 55, according to WTA live rankings. The last Canadian remaining in singles, Mboko has made a name for herself at home, her powerful ball-striking on full display in her first National Bank Open main draw. She will meet Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in Wednesday's semifinals. The ninth-seeded Rybakina advanced after Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was forced to retire with an apparent arm injury while trailing 6-1, 2-1 earlier Monday night. After two injury-plagued years, Mboko — who had shown promise as a junior — opened the season with a 22-match win streak and captured five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour. She then qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open, reaching the third round, before stunning 25th seed Magdalena Frech in the first round at Wimbledon. And the upsets keep coming. In Montreal, Mboko has rattled off wins over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, 23rd seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova and Gauff, the world No. 2. Her latest victory boosts her record to 25-8 against higher-ranked players and 51-9 in all competitions. Buzzing in anticipation, the crowd rose to its feet for loud applause the moment Mboko emerged from the tunnel before the match. Neither player looked dialed in during the first set, as both competitors fired shots long and wide and wasted opportunities to break early. At 2-2, Mboko fell in a 40-15 hole, but ultimately took the prolonged game thanks to five service winners, regularly opening points with 180-kilometre per hour strikes. The Canadian then went up 40-0 with three chances to break before a series of errors, including a few mis-hits on her backhand, helped Bouzas Maneiro hold. Mboko retook a 40-0 advantage for three breakpoint opportunities while leading 4-3. This time, Bouzas Maneiro fired her shot into the net. Bouzas Maneiro broke back after Mboko made three unforced errors and double-faulted. Mboko, however, took the set with her second breakpoint when Bouzas Maneiro struck her forehand wide. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2025 Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
Canada News.Net
12 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev rallies to reach Toronto semis
(Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images) Top-seeded Alexander Zverev, bouncing back after squandering two set points in the first set, rallied for a 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 win over 18th-seeded Alexei Popyrin in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open on Monday in Toronto. The 28-year-old German advances to face either 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia or 26th-seeded Alex Michelsen of the United States in the semifinals. The latter two players faced off late Monday night. Zverev is one match victory away from his fourth final of the season. He won the title at Munich, Germany, and wound up as runner-up at the Australian Open and at Stuttgart, Germany. Following a first set in which Zverev failed on two chances to claim the tiebreaker, he established his dominance in each of the final two sets by jumping out to 3-0 leads. Popyrin managed to pull level in the second set before Zverev broke again in the last game. The third set featured just the lone service break. 'I had to tell myself, even though I lost the first set, I thought we were both playing actually quite well,' Zverev said. 'I did one or two mistakes in the end (of the tiebreaker), and I was very unlucky with the net cord on set point. But all in all, I thought it was a high level, and if I continue playing that way, I'm going to get my chances -- and that's what I did.' Popyrin finished with a slight edge in winners, 30-28, but that was more than offset by his 45 unforced errors. Zverev gave away only 30 points. Zverev is headed to an ATP 1000 semifinal for the first time this year. He has seven career ATP 1000 titles, two of them coming last year in Rome and Paris.
