Canada’s rising tennis star Victoria Mboko won her first match in two months with a straight-sets victory over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Tuesday (21 October).
The 19-year-old, world No. 23 beat her compatriot and doubles partner 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round in their first career meeting.
Mboko had not won a set, let alone a match, in the four tournaments since memorably capturing the Canadian Open in August for her maiden career title.
Mboko – who was ranked 291st this time last year – dictated the match throughout the 1-hour, 15-minute contest against the 2019 winner in Flushing.
She jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and broke Andreescu to make it 5-3 before serving out the set.
The second set seesawed back and forth until 2-2, when Mboko converted a third break point to get a leg up. She broke again in the final game to punch her ticket to the last 16, where she will face qualifier Eva Lys.
More to follow…