Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko sent shockwaves through the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal on Saturday, defeating top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 in front of a roaring home crowd.
At just 18 years old, Mboko played the match of her life, dismantling the reigning French Open champion in 62 minutes.
“I don’t even know what to say still, I was kind of shocked about it all,” she said after the match. “I just remember in the last game when I was up 5-4, the crowd kind of started cheering even louder… I kind of used that as more fuel.”
A Meteoric Rise for Mboko
Mboko came into the tournament as a wild card ranked 85th in the world. Just months ago, she was ranked 333rd.
She had already shown promise by pushing Gauff to three sets in Rome back in May. But this time, she broke her three times and defended all four break points she faced.
Coco Gauff graciously embraced Victoria Mboko after the defeat.
Her aggressive play and mental focus made the difference.
“I think it helped me tremendously, especially in the last game, since they were so encouraging me,” Mboko added. “It was just amazing.”
Gauff, who had tallied 37 double faults in her first two matches, couldn’t recover from her shaky start. She dropped the first set in just 25 minutes.
Match Highlights and What’s Next
In the second set, Gauff had three break points in the seventh game but failed to convert. A missed drop shot and a forehand into the net kept Mboko alive.
With the crowd firmly behind her, Mboko saved herself again with a big backhand and served out the game for a 5-4 lead.
Gauff, now serving to stay in the match, went down 0-30 and double-faulted, giving away match point. Mboko sealed the victory when Gauff hit a backhand into the net.
Mboko now advances to the quarter-finals, where she’ll face Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who came through a tight battle against Zhu Lin of China.
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