Montreal (AFP) – Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko conquered four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday, capping a fairytale run at the WTA Canadian Open with her first WTA title. Mboko, 18 and playing in her first WTA final, denied Osaka her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, wearing down the Japanese star, 27, who has struggled to find consistency since returning from maternity leave early in 2024.
Mboko, who was ranked outside the top 300 to start the season and had climbed to 85th entering the week, is now projected to rise to 34th in the world. Before an ecstatic center-court crowd of 11,000, she converted eight of her nine break points, seizing her fourth win of the week over a Grand Slam winner. She ousted former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the second round and toppled reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth before saving a match point en route to a semi-final victory over former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
Related news
“It feels unbelievable right now,” Mboko said, adding that “words cannot really describe how the day went.” It started with an MRI on the right wrist she injured in the semi-finals, and ended with a come-from-behind victory over one of her childhood heroes and a final ovation from delirious fans who have taken her to their hearts.
“I think when I had that winning moment and seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience,” Mboko said. “I would never have thought that something like this would have come so suddenly. I think it just proves that your dreams are closer than you think they are.”
Displaying vintage power and precision, Osaka gave her inexperienced opponent little room to maneuver in the first set, gaining an early break on the way to a 3-0 lead and pocketing the set when Mboko, who had 22 unforced errors in the set, misfired on two forehands to drop her serve a second time. Mboko turned the tide in a second set that featured seven breaks of serve. Osaka looked bewildered as Mboko ramped up the pressure, the Canadian breaking her at love for a 5-2 lead. Serving for the set, however, Mboko coughed up three double faults and was broken. Osaka capitalized on the reprieve with a hold at love, but Mboko took the set in the next game when Osaka sailed a forehand long on set point.
Osaka appeared demoralized as she was broken at love to open the third set. Mboko, who had 13 double faults in the match, couldn’t consolidate the break – ‘Allez Vicky’ – But Osaka was on the ropes again in the third game, drawing a warning for batting a ball skyward in frustration after missing her first serve on break point — which she surrendered with another errant forehand. That launched a run of five straight games for Mboko. Winners were proving hard to come by for both players, and when the Canadian saved four break points to hold for a 3-1 lead, Osaka had a mountain to climb that finally proved too steep.
When Osaka smacked a backhand into the net on match point, Mboko dropped to the court as the crowd — who had backed her all the way with chants of “Allez Vicky” — roared one more ovation. Osaka, who came into the tournament ranked 49th in the world, had appeared energized in Montreal after a coaching shakeup. But she couldn’t maintain her positive attitude as Mboko pulled away for the win.
“It’s kind of funny. This morning I was very grateful. I don’t know why my emotions flipped so quickly, but I’m happy to have played in the final,” she said. “I think Victoria played really well,” added Osaka, who was so dejected she neglected to offer her congratulations at the trophy presentation. While Mboko will skip the Cincinnati Open that started Thursday, Osaka was looking forward to seeing how she responds in the final tuneup for the US Open. “I felt like I could have played better, but I’m not really sure which aspect…it’s going to be interesting to see what my next match is and how I’m going to play.”
© 2024 AFP
