
Toronto teen Mboko, Laval's Fernandez through to second round at Citi Open
WASHINGTON — Canadians Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez won their opening matches Monday at the Citi Open hardcourt tennis tournament.
Mboko, a wild-card in Washington, came back from a break down in the second set to post a 6-2, 6-4 win over Russia's Anastasia Potapova.
Fernandez followed with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Australia's Maya Joint.
Mboko, a 19-year-old from Toronto, won 62.7 per cent of total service points compared to 50 per cent for Potapova.
The Canadian had 13 break-point chances against Potapova and converted five of them, the last coming in the deciding game. Potapova scored two breaks on six chances.
Mboko, who entered Washington with a career-high ranking of 86, will next face No. 12 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the WTA 500 tournament.
Mboko, who has played both at the WTA Tour level and on the lower-tier ITF World Tennis Tour circuit this year, improved her record this season to 46-8.
She posted her fourth win of the season against a top-50 opponent as she prepares for her main-draw debut at the upcoming WTA 1000-level National Bank Open in Montreal.
Fernandez of Laval, Que., fired five aces and broke Joint three times on seven chances in a win that took just 80 minutes to complete.
The 22-year-old Canadian, ranked 36th in the world, saved the only break point she faced.
Britain Wimbledon Tennis
Leylah Fernandez of Canada celebrates winning her first round women's single match against Hannah Klugman of Britain at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, June 30, 2025.
(Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
Fernandez will next face top-seed Jessica Pegula of the United States. Pegula has won both of the previous meetings between the players, with both matches coming on hardcourt.
In first-round doubles action, Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., was set to team with Clervie Ngounoue of the United States in a match against the American duo of Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste.
The 31-year-old Bouchard, a former world No. 5 and a Wimbledon finalist in 2014, is playing in her second-last tournament after announcing last week that she will retire after the National Bank Open.
The 45-year-old Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, is starting a comeback after more than a year away from tennis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Leylah Fernandez upsets top seed Jessica Pegula at Citi Open
Tennis WASHINGTON — Laval's Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Citi Open hardcourt tennis tournament Thursday with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 upset win over top-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States. Fernandez had five aces to nine double faults and broke on three of her eight chances in the two-hour, 19-minute match. She had five break-point opportunities in the final set, converting on two of them. Pegula, meanwhile, had two aces to four double faults and broke on three of her seven opportunities. Fernandez will next face American Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals on Friday. Earlier, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo was ousted in the third round of men's play with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to fourth seed Ben Shelton of the United States. Shelton was nearly unbeatable on serve, firing 16 aces to Diallo's five and winning a whopping 86 per cent of total service points. The American did not face break point while breaking Diallo three times on four chances. Diallo, seeded 15th in Washington, entered the tournament with a career-high world ranking of No. 35. He will next play at the National Bank Open in Toronto, where he is seeded 30th and will have a first-round bye.


Toronto Star
8 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Canada's Leylah Fernandez upsets top seed Jessica Pegula in third round of Citi Open
WASHINGTON - Canada's Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Citi Open hardcourt tennis tournament Thursday with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 upset win over top-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States. Fernandez had five aces to nine double faults and broke on three of her eight chances in the two-hour, 19-minute match.


CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Canada's Leylah Fernandez upsets top seed Jessica Pegula in third round of Citi Open
Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, returns the ball against Jessica Pegula during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) WASHINGTON — Canada's Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Citi Open hardcourt tennis tournament Thursday with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 upset win over top-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States. Fernandez had five aces to nine double faults and broke on three of her eight chances in the two-hour, 19-minute match. The Laval, Que., native had five break-point opportunities in the final set, converting on two of them. Pegula, meanwhile, had two aces to four double faults and broke on three of her seven opportunities. Fernandez will next face American Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals on Friday. Earlier, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo was ousted in the third round of men's play with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to fourth seed Ben Shelton of the United States. Shelton was nearly unbeatable on serve, firing 16 aces to Diallo's five and winning a whopping 86 per cent of total service points. The American did not face break point while breaking Diallo three times on four chances. Diallo, seeded 15th in Washington, entered the tournament with a career-high world ranking of No. 35. He will next play at the National Bank Open in Toronto, where he is seeded 30th and will have a first-round bye. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025 The Canadian Press