Mboko mania in Montreal with 2017 vibes

Canadian tennis fans no doubt remember that year marked Denis Shapovalov’s coming out party after he upset both Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro as an 18-year-old wildcard.

Eight years later, Victoria Mboko, is emulating Shapovalov in front of the loud Montreal faithful.

In an evening that could turn out to be one of those “where were you when?” moments especially if Mboko hits the highest of heights, the – wait for it – 18-year-old wildcard upset top seed Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 to become the youngest Canadian woman to reach the NBO quarter-finals since Helen Kelesi in 1987.

“I don't even know what to say still,” Mboko uttered to reporters about an hour and a half after the match concluded. “I was kind of shocked about it all. Everything kind of came so fast. There were so many people.”

“I feel like tonight I let it soak in a little bit more, but I'm still kind of on the high a little bit. I'm super happy, and I'm just really content with how things went today and that I get to move on to the next round.”

The number of firsts Mboko is achieving in 2025 now takes up several paragraphs. On Saturday night, added to the list, besides the above, were making a first WTA 1000 quarter-final and collecting a maiden Top 10 victory.

Her ranking is set to soar from no. 85 to around no. 55 even if she exits in the quarter-finals on Monday.

For even more perspective on how impressive the result was, Gauff had only lost to one player outside the Top 60 since February 2022.

Kenin knows what it feels like to exit at the hands of Mboko, too, losing to her in the second round this week.

Mboko said on the eve of Saturday’s clash that having already faced Gauff, on clay in Rome in May, she somewhat knew what to expect. She sure played like it.

After Mboko broke to end the contest in just over an hour, the ever-gracious Gauff bypassed the frustration she was bound to be feeling to offer up a hug to Mboko, whose smile lit up IGA Stadium. Gauff later praised Mboko’s athleticism, ball striking and demeanour.

Mboko can win points in different ways, which bodes well for her.

In her first two triumphs, for example, there were double digits in aces. In the third round, Mboko blasted from the baseline – especially with her backhand – and crunched more than 30 winners.

Against Gauff, her situational play proved outstanding. Mboko’s winners to unforced error ratio might not have looked spectacular (7 -11) but she moved terrifically well and rarely tried to force matters.

Gauff was the one that flinched, making 22 unforced errors to cap a tough week for the two-time Grand Slam champion.

While Gauff’s double fault count dropped from 23 to 14 to six on Saturday, the Amerocan only served at 43 percent. Two of those double faults came in the last game.

“I knew she would come in with a lot of confidence, and she won her first couple of rounds easily,” said Gauff. “Honestly, I haven't played the best this tournament, so I knew that it would be tough.

“I just felt like I could do better today, but I also knew that if I took my foot off the gas a little bit, that she would take advantage of those moments, and she did.”

Mboko delivered an early warning to Gauff by ripping a forehand down the line on the second point on the way to breaking for 1-0.

She saved the lone break point faced in the first set at 2-1 and sealed the set by driving a return off a not too shabby Gauff first serve.

Gauff rallied from a set down to overcome Mboko in Rome and the latter admitted to flashing back to their tussle in Italy.

“I just remember when she kind of came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better…I was thinking about that,” said Mboko. “I kind of wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing.”

Mboko exudes calmness on court and indeed never looked flustered, even when a fired-up Gauff authored a sparkling backhand down the line after withstanding Mboko’s heavy hitting.

What did Mboko do next? She held to love for 2-1 in the second.

The second set was never going to be as lopsided as the first given Gauff’s pedigree. Mboko dug deep at 3-3 in the second, withstanding three break points. Gauff’s unforced errors, in truth, provided a helping hand.

How many times has Gauff not broken in a match in 2025? This was the first time.

Gauff unravelled in the final game as the decibels rose. She hopes to regroup for both Cincinnati and the US Open.

Mboko’s thoughts, meanwhile, still firmly rest on Montreal. 

Photo: Sarah-Jäde Champagne