Mboko reaches National Bank Open final with epic win over Rybakina
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Winnipeg Free Press
a few seconds ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Mboko continues dream run against Osaka in National Bank Open final
MONTREAL – Victoria Mboko will take centre court once again in tonight's National Bank Open final. The Canadian tennis sensation faces four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the WTA 1000 tournament's title game at IGA Stadium after rallying for a thrilling comeback in last night's semifinal. Mboko saved a match point, battled from one set down and fought through a wrist injury to win a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) over ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in an epic semifinal clash. The 18-year-old rising star from Toronto became the fourth Canadian woman to reach a final at the Canadian Open, and the latest since Bianca Andreescu's title run in 2019. Mboko will move up to at least 34th in the world rankings after beginning the year outside the top 300. Her success in Montreal has come at the expense of higher-ranked players. She beat 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, No. 23 seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova and top-seeded Coco Gauff in a match that only lasted 62 minutes. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Then she bounced Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 in Monday's quarterfinals, setting the stage for her nail-biter against Rybakina. Osaka, meanwhile, won 6-2, 7-6 (7) over 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark in the second semifinal. The former world No. 1 continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. Osaka is seeking her eighth title and her first since the 2021 Australian Open. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
Toronto Star
a few seconds ago
- Toronto Star
Canada's Mboko continues dream run against Osaka in National Bank Open final
Victoria Mboko of Canada reacts during her game against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during semifinal tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi CMU/ flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Canada News.Net
an hour ago
- Canada News.Net
Karen Khachanov, Ben Shelton pull upsets in Toronto semis
(Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) One point away from defeat, 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov escaped to defeat top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday in the semifinals of the National Bank Open in Toronto. The 29-year-old Russian will oppose fourth-seeded Ben Shelton in the championship match. Shelton downed second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-U.S. semifinal late Wednesday night. Shelton, 22, is headed to his first career ATP Masters 1000 final. Khachanov is through to the final of a Masters 1000 event for just the second time, following his championship at the Paris Masters in 2018. Four other times Khachanov was a Masters 1000 semifinalist, including at the Canadian event in 2018 and 2019. His best results at Grand Slam tournaments were semifinals losses at the 2022 U.S. Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Zverev had a match point at 5-6 on Khachanov's serve in the third set, but the German came up short in a bid to reach his first Masters 1000 final of the year. Zverev won Masters 1000 tournaments in Rome and Paris in 2024. Down 3-1 in the third-set tiebreaker, Khachanov won the next five points, then sealed the victory on his second match point. 'I had to dig deep and lift my level,' Khachanov said. 'It was a very demanding, very mental, very physical match. So I'm very happy to get the win after losing some easy ones to him in recent years. 'Today was a real close one. I was match point down. If the ball touches the net and drops over, we wouldn't be talking now.' The match stats weren't impressive, as both players had more unforced errors (44 for Zverev, 34 for Khachanov) than winners (36 for Zverev, 29 for Khachanov). Shelton dominated with his serve. He recorded seven aces without committing a double fault, won 86 percent of his first-serve points (25 of 29) and saved both break points that he faced. 'I've seen so many big improvements in my game this week, that's what I'm most happy about, how I'm executing, how little I'm hesitating, how I'm returning,' said Shelton, who followed up a quarterfinal victory over ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia. 'There are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two Top 10 guys back to back is huge for me. ... 'I'm just really excited to see myself executing like this, not wondering if the shot is going to go in or out, but expecting it to go in.' Shelton beat Khachanov in their lone matchup, during the third round at Indian Wells, Calif., this spring.
