“I’m so happy” – Coco Gauff-conquerer Victoria Mboko makes feelings known after pulling off shock Canadian Open upset & sharing warm hug with American

Coco Gauff suffered a shock upset at the hands of Victoria Mboko in the fourth round of the ongoing 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal. The pair shared a warm embrace at the net in the immediate aftermath of the contest’s conclusion and later, Mboko laid bare her happiness at defeating the WTA No. 2 and two-time singles Major champion.

Gauff, the top seed in Montreal, came into her clash against home hope Mboko as the overwhelming favorite to win on paper. However, there were concerning signs spanning the American’s two previous displays at the WTA 1000 hardcourt event. She had made numerous unforced errors in both her second and third-round matches, including an abysmally high double fault count (37).

While Coco Gauff’s never-say-die attitude helped her get over the line in both her previous matches in Montreal, things were different against Victoria Mboko. The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked No. 53, was rock-solid on return and managed to hold her nerve, and her serve, even when her more illustrious opponent had break points. Ultimately, it took the teenager just an hour and two minutes to register a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

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Gauff warmly hugged Mboko at the net following the Canadian's monumental win.

Later, during her post-match, on-court interview, the 18-year-old said:

"It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion."

Victoria Mboko revisits encounter against Coco Gauff in Rome; sheds light on what she told herself to get past American at Canadian Open

At this year's Italian Open in Rome, Victoria Mboko and Coco Gauff locked horns in the second round. Here, the Canadian won the first set 6-3. However, Gauff stepped up her level by several notches to dominate Mboko in the second and third sets, as the American clinched them 6-2 and 6-1 respectively to win the match.

After her 2025 National Bank Open success against Gauff, the 18-year-old said she had "flashbacks" of Rome after taking the first set in Montreal, but kept telling herself to maintain a high level.

"When I actually won the first set here, I kind of had flashbacks to what was going on when I played her in Rome. So, I was like, 'Okay. You need to step it up a level. You need to stay in there with her.' She's such a fighter and I know that, so I just wanted to stay solid and I wanted to be right there with and her and take as many opportunities as I could," Mboko told Sportsnet.

Up next for the youngster is a quarterfinal matchup against either Marta Kostyuk or Elena Rybakina.

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Sudipto Pati

Sudipto is a Tennis journalist at Sportskeeda holding a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has an experience of 3+ years across the market research, travel, health, lifestyle and sports sectors.

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