Mboko saves match point to topple Andreeva in Doha thriller

In a high-stakes battle between the tour’s two most prominent teenagers, Victoria Mboko secured her place in the quarterfinals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Wednesday afternoon. The 10th-seeded Canadian produced a resilient performance to edge out the fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) in a contest lasting over two hours.

The victory served as a measure of revenge for the 19-year-old Mboko, who had lost to Andreeva in the Adelaide International final just last month.

The third set of their Doha encounter was particularly dramatic; world No. 7 Andreeva stood on the brink of victory, holding a match point at 5-4, but she squandered the opportunity with a costly double fault. Mboko, currently at a career-high ranking of world No. 13, capitalized on the opening to force a tiebreak, which she eventually clinched 7-5.

Mboko – Rybakina next ?

This win marks Mboko’s third career victory over a top-10 opponent and propels her into her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, following her historic title run in Montreal last summer. Her path through the draw in Qatar has been impressive; she previously defeated two-time major finalist Vera Zvonareva (6-4, 6-4) and the experienced Marie Bouzkova (7-5, 6-2).

Meanwhile, Andreeva’s exit follows a strong second-round performance where she defeated Magda Linette in straight sets. Mboko now awaits the winner of the blockbuster third-round clash between the reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, the second seed, and world No. 26 Qinwen Zheng.

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