Canadian teen Mboko reaches Montreal final, beating Rybakina in 3rd-set tiebreaker

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MONTREAL (AP) — Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko rallied to reach the National Bank Open final, beating ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old Mboko dropped to the court after Rybakina’s shot sailed long on match point as the crowd — lined with “Allez Vicky” — erupted. Mboko saved a match point in the third set and broke Rybakina twice to force the tiebreaker.

“Incredible match, thank you to everyone for supporting me,” Mboko told the crowd in French. “It was really difficult, but anything can happen.”

On Thursday night, she’ll face Japanese star Naomi Osaka, a 6-2, 7-6 (7) winner over 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark in the second semifinal.

Mboko, ranked 85th in the world, is seeking her first WTA Tour title and trying to join Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era.

“Playing in front of the home crowd, obviously, has its advantages,” Mboko said. “You always have everyone pumping you up as much as they can. It really pulls me through in the tough moments where I’m maybe not as positive. Really blessed to have that kind of support.”

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals, then topped Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. At 2 hours, 46 minutes, the match Wednesday was the longest of Mboko’s short tour career.

From Kazakhstan, Rybakina won at Wimbledon in 2022. She has nine career WTA Tour victories, winning in May on clay at Strasbourg. Rybakina beat Mboko 6-3, 7-5 last month in Washington.

“I knew that she was a tough opponent,” Rybakina said. “She served really well in these important moments. It was a very close match, like a big fight. So it could go any way, but it went hers.”

Mboko overcame 11 double-faults and battled through a wrist injury after stumbling awkwardly to the ground in the second game of the third set. She'll will move up to at least 34th in the world after starting the year outside the top 300.

Mboko said her wrist felt “a lot better” after the match, but in the moment, the fall almost crushed her spirits.

“She was playing really great tennis on top of that, but I’m happy that I kept my composure,” Mboko said. “I was patient in the right moments. I just feel really happy that I was able to bounce back after being down, even a match point, I think.”

Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who reached No. 1 in the world, continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She’s seeking her eighth title and her first since the 2021 Australian Open.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis