Elena Rybakina may have beaten Victoria Mboko less than two weeks ago in Washington but the 2022 Wimbledon champion highlights she has taken notice of how the 18-year-old has played in Montreal so far and will enter their match fully cautious.
On Monday, the Kazakh tennis star was cruising toward a straight-set win over Marta Kostyuk when the Ukrainian retired from the match while 1-6 1-2 down.
Next up for Rybakina will be one of the best stories of this year's Montreal tournament edition - teenage sensation Mboko, who has dropped just one set en route to making the semifinal. Also, it should be noted that the Canadian's path to the semis includes a stunning 6-1 6-4 win over top seed Coco Gauff.
For Rybakina and Mboko, it will be their second meeting in 12 days. In late July, the Kazakh former world No. 3 ousted the 85th-ranked Canadian 6-3 7-5 in their first encounter in Washington.
Rybakina: The conditions will be different... Mboko is definitely dangerous and she has nothing to lose
"She's a tough opponent. She has really good strokes, and she plays fast, and she has really good serve. I feel like in Washington it was also a bit difficult for both of us since it was a night match, and the conditions were, like, very different. Now we are playing here, and it's more consistent, I would say. So she's definitely dangerous. She has nothing to lose, and I'm sure she's enjoying out there. Yeah, it's going to be a tough one. Hopefully I can bring my best," the 2022 Wimbledon champion said of the 18-year-old rising star.
Although not a lot of time has passed since their Washington meeting, Rybakina is right when she says that it will be a different matchup this time. After clinching five wins in Montreal and beating two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff, Mboko's confidence is undoubtedly sky high.
However, Rybakina still enters the match as the favorite to beat Mboko.
