Canadian Teenager Victoria Mboko Stuns Coco Gauff in Montreal

Victoria Mboko is having the summer of her life. The 18-year-old notched the biggest win of her career after defeating World No. 2 Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round of the National Bank Open in Montreal.

Mboko is the first Canadian to advance to the quarterfinals in Montreal since Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and is now the youngest Canadian to defeat a No. 1 seed at the National Bank Open.

"So far, I feel really happy with how it went," Mboko said. "Playing Coco is obviously never easy. She's number two in the world, and it's been such a great opportunity for me to play against someone like her. I was just happy I kept my composure today, and I pulled it through."

Mboko quickly took control of the match in the first set, taking advantage of Gauff's initial flat-footedness to break early for a 2-0 lead. Gauff fell victim to 23 unforced errors, particularly with her forehand, as she struggled to convert her power into shots beyond the net.

It took just 25 minutes for Mboko to take the first set. Shots to Gauff's forehand at key points like a break point down at 2-1 gave Mboko an edge during make-or-break moments.

Gauff showed more promise in the second set, holding onto her service games and pushing Mboko to three break points at 3-3. However, the American hit three unforced errors in a row, losing the chance to take the lead in the match.

"I really didn't feel so much pressure," Mboko said on facing break points in the second set.

"I kind of wanted to feel even more relaxed than I usually do in that kind of situation. It's obviously a big deal to be broken and for her to be up in the second set and have that advantage. But I wanted to keep my composure as much as possible."

Gauff now falls to a 2-3 win-loss record following her monumental title run at Roland Garros in June, suffering first round defeats in Berlin and Wimbledon before rallying back in Montreal.

The number one seed overcame 23 double faults in her opening round match against Danielle Collins and 14 against Veronika Kudermetova to advance in Montreal. Despite only hitting six against Mboko, Gauff was unable to find a way around the Canadian.

Mboko and Gauff faced off once before in Rome earlier this year in a tight three-set battle that Gauff won. Since then, Mboko's playing style, as well as her mentality, have evolved.

"I kind of had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit," Mboko said. "I wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing. I wanted to stay right there with her."

The Canadian teen has slowly risen through the ranks after she made her WTA Tour singles main draw debut at the Miami Open this year, where she won her first tour-level match against Camila Osorio in Miami. She made her grand slam main draw debut at this year's Roland Garros, reaching the third round for the first time in her career after wins over Lulu Sun and Eva Lys.

Mboko will face Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the quarterfinals next. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the tennis court and beyond.

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