No. 3 seed Victoria Mboko is through to her third WTA final after mounting a big comeback to beat second-seeded Leylah Fernandez 2-6 6-3 6-2 in an all-Canadian semifinal in Hong Kong.
Early in the match, Fernandze was all over the younger compatriot, breaking the reigning Montreal champion twice to easily take the opening set.
Through the opening three games of the second set, not a single break point was seen as Fernandez led 2-1. Then, the 2021 US Open finalist asked for a medical timeout and got her right thigh strapped.
Shortly after the play continued, Mboko made her first breakthrough and took Fernandez's serve in the fifth and ninth games to take the second set. In the decider, the 19-year-old Canadian claimed two additional breaks to complete her comeback.
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It was the first meeting between the two top-ranked Canadian female tennis players.
For the title at the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong, Mboko will play against first-time WTA finalist Cristina Bucsa. The Canadian beat the 68th-ranked Spaniard 6-3 6-2 in Rome earlier this year.
What Mboko said after beating Fernandez in Hong Kong?
"I didn't really have the best start. But I gotta give credit to her -- she was playing really great, aggressive tennis, which made it hard for me to find my rhythm,. II just started saying to myself, 'she's playing really great so I just wanted to stay in there as much as I could with her and find a way. It slowly got me a lot more confidence in my game, and [by the end] I was more brave and able to go for my shots," the 19-year-old said after completing her semifinal comeback.
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Mboko finished as runner-up in Parma in mid-May but became a WTA champion in Montreal three months later.
