MONTREAL – Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko has arrived at the National Bank’s Open Quarter Final, upsetting top-seeded Coco Gough 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night.
Gauff fell 2-3 after winning the French Open. She followed a big win in opening losses at Berlin and Wimbledon, overcoming double fault issues and winning two three-set matches in Montreal. Gouf made five double faults on Saturday after opening 23 against Daniel Collins and 14 against Veronica Kudermetova. She also had 24 forced errors.
Ranked 85th in the world at the age of 18, Mboko finished the 21-year-old Gauff in an hour and 22 minutes.
“Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after the chorus of “I, me, me!” The chants echoed all around the venue. “I’m so happy today…it’s incredible. I’m so happy to be able to beat such a great champion.”
Mboko faces the winner of the second half match between China’s Lin Zu and Spain’s Jessica Bouza Maneiro.
In Rome in May, Gauff came together to beat Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a 64-round match.
Previously, Ukrainian 24 seeds Malta Kostuk and Kazakhstan’s ninth seed Elena Ribakina began their quarter-final matches. Kostyuk beat US McCartney Kessler 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, and Rybakina topped Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.