Rybakina to face teen Mboko in WTA Canadian Open semis
World number 12 Rybakina of Kazakhstan led 6-1, 2-1 when Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk retired in the second set with a wrist injury.
Mboko, the shocker of the event, dispatched Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 by taking the final six games to reach her first WTA 1000 semi-final in pursuit of her first trip to a WTA final.
' I'm so excited to be in the semi-final here,' Mboko told the supportive home nation crowd. 'I want to thank everyone for your support once again. It has been unreal.'
Rybakina won their only prior meeting 6-3, 7-5 last month in the second round at Washington.
The top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds were ousted before the quarter-finals, opening the door for such upstarts as 18-year-old Mboko, who eliminated top seed Coco Gauff.
World number 85 Mboko, who began the year raked 333rd in the world, has ensured herself a jump into the top 50 for the first time in her career next week.
Mboko broke 51stranked Bouzas Maneiro for a 5-3 lead. The Spaniard broke back in the ninth game only to drop the first set after 43 minutes when Mboko broke again.
Bouzas Maneiro broke to open the second set then held but Mboko never dropped a game from there, taking the match after 77 minutes when the Spaniard sent a backhand beyond the baseline.
The crowd, which chanted 'it's not over' in French after the match, has been the best part of the amazing run, Mboko said.
'I train here (in Canada) and it's always a great opportunity to be here,' Mboko said. 'My first time playing in Montreal has been an unreal experience and I couldn't be more grateful.'
Rybakina, seeded ninth, seeks her third WTA title after Rome and Indian Wells in 2023. She has not reached a final since last year at Miami.
Rybakina broke 24th-seeded Kostyuk to open the match and led 2-1 when Kostyuk received medical treatment on her right wrist and forearm.
Kostyuk netted a backhand to surrender a break in the fifth game and Rybakina broke again to claim the first set in 37 minutes when Kostyuk sent a forehand long.
In the second set, Rybakina held twice before Kostyuk retired after 54 minutes due to her wrist issues, walking off the court in tears.
Tuesday's quarter-final matches send four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan against Ukraine's 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina and US sixth seed Madison Keys, this year's Australian Open champion, against Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Sizzling Osaka to face Tauson in WTA Canadian Open semis
AFP | Montreal Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Canadian Open on Tuesday with a comprhensive 6-2, 6-2 triumph over 10th seed Elina Svitolina. Osaka, chasing her first WTA Tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, needed only 68 minutes to dispatch the Ukraine star and book a semi-final with Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson, who stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4. 'I'm just having a lot of fun playing. I'm glad to be here,' Osaka said. 'I think I'll be seeded in the US Open because I won my match. That was a really good goal for me. I'm just really excited.' Tauson dedicated her victory to her late grandfather, who died on Sunday as the Dane was dispatching Polish second seed Iga Swiatek, who won her sixth Grand Slam title last month at Wimbledon. 'Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away so I really wanted to win for him today,' a tearful Tauson said after beating US sixth seed Keys. 'I was told the day after I beat Iga so I really wanted to come out and show my best tennis for him. Hopefully he's watching.' The US Open hardcourt tuneup in Montreal is the first event where Tauson has beaten two top-10 foes, with Swiatek and Keys exiting at her hand. Tauson dominated the opening set and took full advantage of Keys giving up a break on a double fault to open the second. The Dane won 12 of 19 points on her second serves and kept Keys at bay most of the night. Keys joined a scrap heap of Montreal seeds, with the top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds ousted before the quarter-finals. Tauson, 22, seeks her fourth career WTA title after the 2021 Lyon and Luxenbourg Opens and this year's Auckland Open, where Osaka retired after winning the first set of the final in their only WTA meeting. 'She's really tough,' Osaka said of Tauson. 'I played her in Auckland this year. I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So I'm really excited that I'm healthy.' First title as a mom? Osaka seeks her eighth WTA-level title, and her first since a maternity leave comeback last year. She last won a WTA-level title below the Grand Slams at the 2019 China Open. Osaka broke for a 3-1 edge in the opening set and exchanged breaks in the last three games to capture the set after 38 minutes, then cruised through the second set , taking the triumph when Svitolina hit a forehand wide. Tauson is one win away from her second WTA 1000 final, having lost the first in February at Dubai to Mirra Andreeva. The Dane dominated Keys in the first set, breaking in the fourth and sixth games, and Keys double faulted away another break to begin the second set. Tauson held from there to win, never facing a break point in the second set before holding at love in the last game to end matters after 70 minutes. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbled on champion, and 18-yearold Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko will meet in the other semi-final.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
A wheelbarrow of potatoes for Danish football's man of the match
French footballer Maxime Soulas's prize for his manof-the-match award in the Danish first division did not go down like a sack of potatoes -- more like a wheelbarrow's worth. After performing when the chips were down by opening the scoring for Sonderjyske in their 3-2 win against Nordsjaelland on Sunday, Soulas received 55 kilograms of the tasty tubers, the 26-year-old defender told AFP on Tuesday. 'I gave the potatoes to my club's cafeteria, and they donated some to a soup kitchen,' he said. It marks the first time the man of the match can eat his award for his post-match supper. 'The sponsor of the match decides on the reward. He found it funny and now the story's gone round the world,' said the club's communications director, Jacob Ravn. Originally from Montpellier in southern France, Soulas came to Denmark in 2020 to play for Amager in the capital Copenhagen, before joining recently promoted Sonderjyske in 2021. Before that he played his football in the Netherlands.
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Rybakina to face teen Mboko in WTA Canadian Open semis
Elena Rybakina, the 2 0 22 Wi m b l e d o n champion, and Canadian teen Victoria Mboko advanced to a WTA Canadian Open semi-final matchup with triumphs on Monday in the Montreal hard court event. World number 12 Rybakina of Kazakhstan led 6-1, 2-1 when Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk retired in the second set with a wrist injury. Mboko, the shocker of the event, dispatched Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 by taking the final six games to reach her first WTA 1000 semi-final in pursuit of her first trip to a WTA final. ' I'm so excited to be in the semi-final here,' Mboko told the supportive home nation crowd. 'I want to thank everyone for your support once again. It has been unreal.' Rybakina won their only prior meeting 6-3, 7-5 last month in the second round at Washington. The top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds were ousted before the quarter-finals, opening the door for such upstarts as 18-year-old Mboko, who eliminated top seed Coco Gauff. World number 85 Mboko, who began the year raked 333rd in the world, has ensured herself a jump into the top 50 for the first time in her career next week. Mboko broke 51stranked Bouzas Maneiro for a 5-3 lead. The Spaniard broke back in the ninth game only to drop the first set after 43 minutes when Mboko broke again. Bouzas Maneiro broke to open the second set then held but Mboko never dropped a game from there, taking the match after 77 minutes when the Spaniard sent a backhand beyond the baseline. The crowd, which chanted 'it's not over' in French after the match, has been the best part of the amazing run, Mboko said. 'I train here (in Canada) and it's always a great opportunity to be here,' Mboko said. 'My first time playing in Montreal has been an unreal experience and I couldn't be more grateful.' Rybakina, seeded ninth, seeks her third WTA title after Rome and Indian Wells in 2023. She has not reached a final since last year at Miami. Rybakina broke 24th-seeded Kostyuk to open the match and led 2-1 when Kostyuk received medical treatment on her right wrist and forearm. Kostyuk netted a backhand to surrender a break in the fifth game and Rybakina broke again to claim the first set in 37 minutes when Kostyuk sent a forehand long. In the second set, Rybakina held twice before Kostyuk retired after 54 minutes due to her wrist issues, walking off the court in tears. Tuesday's quarter-final matches send four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan against Ukraine's 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina and US sixth seed Madison Keys, this year's Australian Open champion, against Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson.
