Canadian teenage sensation Victoria Mboko clinched a stunning comeback win over ninth seed Elena Rybakina to reach the final of the National Bank Open in Montreal, where she will face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
The 18-year-old Mboko rallied from a set down, in which she was dominated 6-1, to not only take Rybakina into a decider, but then save a match point and break the 2022 Wimbledon champion twice to force a final tie-breaker.
Mboko, who upset top seed Coco Gauff 6-1 6-4 earlier in the tournament and also beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets in their quarter-final clash, ultimately prevailed 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to book her spot in the final.
“Incredible match, thank you to everyone for supporting me,” Mboko told the crowd in French. “It was really difficult, but anything can happen.
“Playing in front of the home crowd, obviously, has its advantages. 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.”
Mboko overcame 11 double-faults and battled through a wrist injury after stumbling awkwardly to the ground in the second game of the third set.
Mboko, who will move up to at least 34th in the world after starting the year outside the top 300, said afterwards that her wrist felt “a lot better”.
“She was playing really great tennis on top of that, but I’m happy that I kept my composure,” Mboko said of her stumble. “I was patient in the right moments. I just feel really happy that I was able to bounce back after being down, even a match point, I think.”
Ranked 85th in the world, Mboko is seeking her first WTA Tour title and trying to join Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win their home event in the open era.
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Highlights of the National Bank Open semi-final between Naomi Osaka and Clara Tauson
In the final on Thursday night, she will face former world No 1 Osaka, who overcame 16th seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-6 (9-7) in the other semi-final.
Osaka continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away from the game for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023.
Shelton beats Fritz in all-American clash to reach Toronto final
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Highlights of the National Bank Open semi-final between Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz
Fourth seed Ben Shelton beat second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-3 in their all-American semi-final match at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Shelton will face 11th seed Karen Khachanov in the final after he overcame top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-4) in the other semi-final, surviving a Zverev match point in the process.
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Highlights of the National Bank Open semi-final between Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov
“I’ve seen so many big improvements in my game this week, that’s what I’m most happy about, how I’m executing, how little I’m hesitating, how I’m returning,” said Shelton, who become the youngest American to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since Andy Roddick in Toronto in 2004.
“There are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two top-10 guys back-to-back [Alex de Minaur and Fritz] is huge for me.”
The 22-year-old Shelton is seeking his third career ATP Tour title. He won in Tokyo on hard courts in 2023 and Houston last year on clay.
“I’m just really excited to see myself executing like this, not wondering if the shot is going to go in or out, but expecting it to go in,” Shelton said.
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