Top-seeded Victoria Mboko secured a 6-4, 6-4 victory against her Canadian counterpart Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals of the Strasbourg International tennis tournament held in France. Hailing from Burlington, Ontario, the 19-year-old Mboko utilized a potent return game to outclass the seventh-seeded Fernandez, who hails from Laval, Quebec.
Fernandez, aged 24, struggled to win only 52.8% of total service points and faced significant pressure with 11 break points, managing to save seven of them. In contrast, Mboko displayed a strong performance on her first-serve points, achieving an 82% success rate, and conceded two breaks out of three opportunities.
This victory marked Mboko’s second consecutive win over Fernandez, with their initial encounter taking place at last year’s Hong Kong Open semifinals, where Mboko eventually secured her second WTA title.
In the upcoming semifinals of the WTA 500 clay-court tournament, Mboko will take on Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian, showcasing her potential as a rising star in the tennis realm. Both Mboko and Fernandez have been seeded in the women’s draw at the French Open. Mboko, seeded ninth at Roland Garros, is set to compete against Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova on Sunday, while Fernandez, seeded 24th, will face Alycia Parks of the United States on Monday.