Victoria Mboko saves match point to stun Mirra Andreeva in Doha

There is a gritty, almost stubborn refusal to go away that characterizes Victoria Mboko’s game. And on the sun-baked courts of Doha yesterday, that trait was the only thing standing between her and a plane ticket home.

In a match that felt like a glimpse into the next decade of the WTA, the 19-year-old Canadian found a way to reverse a haunting history, edging out Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) in a contest that lasted two hours and ten minutes of pure tactical warfare.

The rivalry is on, and it feels electric. This was only their second meeting this season, following a lopsided Adelaide final in January where Andreeva essentially dismantled an injured Mboko.

But Doha provided a different stage and a different Victoria. As I watched the opening set, the story was written in Mboko’s superior aggression.

She kept her point construction simple but devastatingly effective, slamming the ball from side to side with a blend of power and consistency that Andreeva struggled to neutralize. Throughout that opener, Mboko tallied 15 winners, including five aces, compared to the Russian’s five.

There was a moment of deja vu when Mboko leapt to a 3-0 lead, only to see Andreeva claw back to 3-3 — the exact sequence that triggered Mboko’s collapse in Adelaide. But this time, the mental battle belonged to the Canadian.

At 3-3, she staved off two break points and found two consecutive forehand winners to escape with a crucial hold. She had halted the momentum, and with it, she took the set.

However, Andreeva is not a top-five seed by accident. In the second set, she began to throw the kitchen sink at Mboko. She slowed the pace, deploying moonballs and a double-handed drop shot from above shoulder height that was as disrespectful as it was brilliant.

Boxed in by this variety, Mboko’s winner count dropped to eight. Andreeva had dragged the match back onto her own terms, leveling the score and setting the stage for a third set that reached the highest level of tennis I have seen from two teenagers in years.

By the time they reached the climax of the third, the air in the stadium was heavy with tension.

At 4-4, Mboko coughed up a pair of double faults to concede her serve, handing the 18-year-old Andreeva the chance to serve for the match. At 5-4, 40-30, Andreeva held a match point. The match was on her racquet. Then came the double fault. A rare crack in the Russian’s armor.

“Yeah, I feel like there’s been so many times where I’m down a match point, or the opponent has a match point, but I don’t really think much of it,” Mboko said during her press conference.

“I just think of it as any other point in the match. I think it’s important to know that you never know when the match is over until it’s over and just to fight until the end.”

That fighting spirit carried her into the tiebreak. Despite the fatigue, the quality was staggering. At 4-3, Mboko chased down a ball to rip an angled backhand pass on the run, giving her the first two-point cushion of the breaker.

Though she stumbled on her first two match points, she refused to hesitate. On her third opportunity, she stepped in and crushed an inside-out backhand winner—her 38th of the day—to seal the upset.

“I feel like I came out with some very clutch shots at the end,” Mboko admitted, still catching her breath. “I think we both were pretty tired when it came to the tiebreak. I think I felt like I was lucky enough to have some good shots in the great moments.”

This victory marks Mboko’s third career Top 10 win and sends her into her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal. It also highlights an incredible stat — she has now won 13 of her past 14 three-set matches.

Reflecting on her burgeoning rivalry with Andreeva, Mboko was gracious. “Seeing her do so well at such a young age, it’s very motivating,” she said. “I can definitely see myself playing her a lot more in the future. She’s just really nice to have around.”