Canada's Victoria Mboko stuns No. 1 seed Coco Gauff to reach NBO quarterfinals

National Post

2 days ago

Victoria Mboko's stellar run at the National Bank Open hit a new level Saturday.
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The Canadian rolled to a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 1 seed Coco Gauff of the United States, winning the women's singles match in just 62 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 tournament.
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Mboko, a rising star who has climbed from a No. 333 ranking to 85th in the world this year, saved all four breakpoints against the world No. 2 Gauff, who committed 22 unforced errors at IGA Stadium.
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The 18-year-old from Toronto is the last Canadian standing in the singles draw, both in Montreal and at the 96-man Masters 1000 event in Toronto.
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After major support for Eugenie Bouchard early in the tournament, the buzz in Montreal shifted around Mboko as the teenage sensation took centre court at the hometown tournament — and she delivered before a sellout crowd.
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Mboko looked ready to meet the moment early, flashing the powerful groundstrokes and blistering serve that have made a mark on the pro tour this season.
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Gauff, meanwhile, made unforced error after unforced error, firing some shots long and many more into the net during a swift, 25-minute first set.
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She double-faulted on the third point of the match, leading to an early break for the Canadian, who rattled off seven straight points into the next game.
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Mboko broke again in the fifth and seventh games while holding serve. In the seventh game, Gauff doubled-faulted and sent two shots into the net in succession to lose the set.
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Gauff found a rhythm early in the second set and earned three breakpoint chances with the match tied 3-3, but committed an error each time as Mboko hung on to win the game.
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With Mboko leading 5-4, Gauff doubled-faulted twice to set up two match points for the Canadian.
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Gauff, this year's French Open champion, scraped by with three-set wins in Rounds 2 and 3. She struggled with her serve, striking a whopping 37 double faults in the two matches combined _ adding six more on Saturday.
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Mboko and Gauff met once before in May, when the Canadian won the first set but lost a three-setter on clay at the Italian Open.
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Mboko will play the winner of Saturday's late match between Zhu Lin of China and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain.
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Playing in only her seventh WTA main draw, she advanced to the quarterfinals of a 1000-level tournament for the first time, knocking off higher-ranked opponents at each step.
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Mboko opened with a win over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, then upset 23rd seed and former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin before snapping Marie Bouzkova's seven-match winning streak with a relentless comeback and taking down Gauff, dropping one set the whole way.