Canadian teen Mboko reaches Montreal final
The 18-year-old Mboko dropped to the court after Rybakina's shot sailed long on match point as the crowd — lined with “Allez Vicky” — erupted
Victoria Mboko plays a shot during the match
MONTREAL: Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko rallied to reach the National Bank Open final, beating ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night.
The 18-year-old Mboko dropped to the court after Rybakina's shot sailed long on match point as the crowd — lined with “Allez Vicky” — erupted. Mboko saved a match point in the third set and broke Rybakina twice to force the tiebreaker.
“Incredible match, thank you to everyone for supporting me,” Mboko told the crowd in French. “It was really difficult, but anything can happen.”
On Thursday night, she'll face Japanese star Naomi Osaka, a 6-2, 7-6 (7) winner over 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark in the second semi-final.
Mboko, ranked 85th in the world, is seeking her first WTA Tour title and trying to join Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era.
“Playing in front of the home crowd, obviously, has its advantages,” Mboko said. “You always have everyone pumping you up as much as they can. It really pulls me through in the tough moments where I'm maybe not as positive. Really blessed to have that kind of support.”
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the quarter-final, then topped Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. At 2 hours, 46 minutes, the match Wednesday was the longest of Mboko's short tour career.
From Kazakhstan, Rybakina won at Wimbledon in 2022. She has nine career WTA Tour victories, winning in May on clay at Strasbourg. Rybakina beat Mboko 6-3, 7-5 last month in Washington.
