Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko defeats top-seeded Coco Gauff to advance to NBO quarterfinals

Globe and Mail

3 days ago

Victoria Mboko's stellar run at the National Bank Open hit a new level Saturday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With Mboko leading 5-4, Gauff doubled-faulted twice to set up two match points for the Canadian.
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. She added six more on Saturday.
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.
Mboko will play the winner of Saturday's late match between Zhu Lin of China and Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain.
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.
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.
It's the latest chapter in a breakthrough season for Mboko, who also played in her first two Grand Slam main draws, reaching the French Open third round and Wimbledon second round.
Her impressive record in all competitions this season improve to 50-9, including 24-8 against players ranked above her.
In Saturday's day session, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan advanced to the quarterfinals.
Kostyuk, the 24th seed, recovered from a first-set loss to defeat McCartney Kessler of the United States 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round.
The ninth-seeded Rybakina also rallied for a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 win over Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, who defended three match points before losing. Kostyuk and Rybakina will play each other in the next round.