MONTREAL (AP) — Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarterfinals.
“Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Olé, Olé, Olé!” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today. .. It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.”
Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults Saturday after having 23 in her opener against Danielle Collins and 14 against Veronika Kudermetova.
Victoria Mboko, of Canada, reacts after her win over Coco Gauff, of the United States, during round of 16 match action at the National Bank Open women’s tennis tournament in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Victoria Mboko, right, of Canada, is congratulated after her win by Coco Gauff, left, of the United States, during round of 16 match action at the National Bank Open women’s tennis tournament in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
“She’s playing high-level tennis.” Gauff said. “I think that’s what showed today. I think she was the better player.”
The 18-year-old Mboko, ranked 85th in the world, finished off the 21-year-old Gauff — who had 24 unforced errors — in 1 hour, 2 minutes.
“When I was up 5-4, the crowd started cheering even louder, and everything got super noisy,” Mboko said. “I used that as more fuel for myself and to pump myself up a little bit more. I just used the crowd to my advantage as much as I could.”
Mboko will face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, a 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 winner over Lin Zhu of China in a rain-interrupted match that ended just before midnight.
In Rome in May, Gauff rallied to beat Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
“I was actually really thinking about it a lot during the match,” Mboko said. “I had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit. I just remember when she came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better. Wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing, and I wanted to stay right there with her.”
Earlier, 24th-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan set up a quarterfinal match. Kostyuk beat McCartney Kessler of the United States 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, and Rybakina topped Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.
Victoria Mboko, of Canada, reacts following her win over Coco Gauff, of the United States, during round of 16 match action at the National Bank Open women’s tennis tournament in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Coco Gauff, right, of the United States, waves to the crowd after her loss to Victoria Mboko, of Canada, during round of 16 match action at the National Bank Open women’s tennis tournament in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
