Victoria Mboko admits overcoming the Elena Rybakina challenge will be a tough task but suggests she has drawn lessons from her Washington defeat and knows what she must change to make sure the outcome of their Montreal match is different.
On Monday, the Canadian - who entered the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal via a wildcard - continued her sensation run by ousting Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4 6-2 in the quarterfinal. So far, the 18-year-old has lost only one set in five matches played en route to becoming the youngest semifinalist at the Canadian Open since Belinda Bencic in 2015.
On Saturday, Mboko clinched the biggest win of her career after completely outplaying No. 1 seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff 6-1 6-4. Now, the home star is set to meet another major name - No. 9 seed and 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina.
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In what was their first tournament on hard this summer, Mboko and Rybakina clashed in Washington and the experienced Kazakh prevailed with a 6-3 7-5 scoreline.
Mboko: I need to up my level and stay there with Rybakina
"I play Rybakina in the next round, and of course, I played her in Washington as well. Of course, I'm not expecting an easy match whatsoever. I played her, so I know what to expect. No, I think I just need to maybe up my level a little bit and just to stay in there with her. You know, she has really great groundstrokes, really great serves. So I guess on that day I want to do my best to kind of stay in there with her," the Montreal sensation explained.
In their Washington match, Mboko trailed by an early break in each of the two sets - managed to recover - but then would lose her serve again in the key moments and that's how Rybakina won.
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Considering what happened in Washington, it is safe to say that one of the emphasis for the 18-year-old will be to stay mentally strong in the deciding moments.
