No. 2 seed Leylah Fernandez got the job done routinely against 167th-ranked Wang Xiyu 6-1 6-4 to progress into the Hong Kong round-of-16, while third-seeded Victoria Mboko survived a tough opener after edging out world No. 134 Talia Gibson 6-7 (2) 6-1 6-4.
Fernandez, who won the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong two years ago, made a lightning start after taking the first five games of the match before serving out for the opener in the seventh game. In the second set, the Canadian was twice up by a break but twice allowed local player Wang to come back into the set. However, the No. 2 seed remained unfazed and claimed another break in the ninth game and put the curtain on the match in the following game.
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In the Hong Kong round-of-16, Fernandez will play against Eva Lys. In the past, the two players met once as Lys earned a 6-4 6-3 win in their 2023 Beijing qualifying match.
Mboko struggled but ultimately joined Fernandez in the winner's column
The first set between Mboko and Gibson was as tight as it gets since not a single break was seen. Then, in the tie-break, Gibson stepped up and won four points in a row from 3-2 to take the opener.
After losing the first set, Mboko heated up and impressively won six games in a row to send the match into a decider.
Just as the first set, the decider was a tight one. After not a single break point was seen through the opening nine games of the set, Mboko earned the first break point of the decider in the 10th game - which at the same time was her first match point - and converted it to complete her comeback win.
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For a place in the Hong Kong quarterfinal, reigning Montreal champion Mboko will play against the winner of the match between Alexandra Eala and Katie Boulter.
