Victoria Mboko took a giant step forward in her career when she defeated Kaja Juvan 7-5, 6-3 on Friday to qualify for her first Grand Slam event main draw.
Maybe it’s the innocence of youth but the 18-year-old from Toronto claimed that one of the keys to her success was treating the final round of Roland Garros qualifying as nothing out of the ordinary. “I was sort of even happy to have won my second match. I took it really chill,” she explained. “I actually didn’t really feel that nervous before the (Juvan) match. I feel like I’ve been playing a lot of matches anyways the past couple of months (45 since January) so today was honestly just another match for me – like it’s the second or third round of another tournament or like a 50K (ITF event). I tricked my brain to making it seem like it’s not a big deal.”
That trick appeared to be working famously as she bolted to a 3-0 lead in the match against the 24-year-old Slovenian. But it was short-lived when Juvan found her grove, getting back to 3-3 and then holding serve twice to lead 5-4. The force was certainly with her and Mboko seemed rattled. But she steadied to hold serve to 5-5. She then broke to lead 6-5 and held to wrap up the 53-minute set.
“Of course, I got nervous a little,” she said about that precarious stretch in the middle of the opening set. “In matches you have a lot of adrenaline going on, and a lot of doubts. I was happy to have my team there to help calm me down. I was a little bit stressed out because she (Juvan) wasn’t playing bad, was playing some good tennis. I needed to find a way to fight back. I put it in my head to just put everything back in the court, and just tire yourself out. (Then) you won’t feel the nerves as much.”
That may not seem like a necessarily successful formula – but it worked. It takes a maturity to survive in the ultra-competitive world of tennis at the highest level. There was one more example of Mboko maintaining her cool under pressure. Leading 4-2 in the second set, she was love-40 on the Slovenian’s serve, so close to be serving for the match. But a string of unforced errors and Juvan was back to deuce and then soon holding the advantage. It was time for Mboto to settle and she did – cracking a forehand winner followed by a loud yell. Next was another winner (she had 29 to 23 for her opponent) off the backhand and then a forehand error by Juvan to get herself on track again with a 5-2 lead.
The match followed the pattern of many of her recent victories – her power off the ground is setting her apart and it showed in one stat on Friday. Because of the heavy hitting, Juvan had 25 forced errors to just six for Mboko.
Her match ended early afternoon and she had to wait until the evening to find out who her main-draw opponent would be. A reporter mentioned that the most difficult option, in terms of players who are slated to face a qualifier or lucky loser, could be seventh seed Madison Keys. The opposite would be two qualifiers who are facing each other or a qualifier vs Jill Teichmann. Mboko beat the No. 98-ranked Swiss lefthander 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 in a WTA 125 event in France last month. But she didn’t take the bait about potential opponents.
“I’m not really focused on seeing who I’m going to play,” she said. “It’s really random for me. I’ll just see tonight how it is and I’ll adapt from there. But whoever I get I know it’s the main draw of a Grand Slam and it’s going to be hard.”
Has this breakthrough at a Grand Slam tournament come sooner or later than she expected? “I think everyone should let things happen the way they happen,” she replied.
“I never even thought I was going to be playing a major so soon. Even like at the beginning of the year, I was ranked in the 300s. It’s just fate and everyone is working hard to this goal.”
Her current No. 122 ranking is up to No. 120 as a result of her qualifying success, and a victory in the first round would put her roughly four or five spots from breaking into the top-100.
Friday evening Mboko learned that her first-round opponent will be Lulu Sun. The 24-year-old New Zealander ranks No. 45, and is a gritty competitor. But in the sporting lingo of the French, she is prenable (beatable).
As a child growing up, Mboko was already keenly interested in the tennis Grand Slams, and now she is in the show. “On TV we all watched the Grand Slams so it was a really big deal for me,” she said. “And I also remember playing here as a junior. I really think playing it as a junior helped me see the ambience and see the environment – kind of prepared myself for what’s to come. I’m really grateful that I experienced that.”
With her all the way in her journey is her family, and they were the ones she immediately turned to after hitting a winner on match point on Friday. “They’re all standing up and all so happy for me,” she said. “My sister, my brother and my dad. The coaches there were standing up. As happy as I was, I was really happy to see that as well.”
It was only a mild disappointment, but Mboko has become a player of great promise after her terrific year so far – particularly her ITF circuit success in the early season and then her performances at big events like the Miami and Italian Opens. French tennis fans are usually astute and well-informed, so it was surprising that there weren’t more spectators present on Friday. The match was well-attended but not packed and there are only two spectator-seating sides to Court 12. Still, there were several there sensing that she may be player to watch as was obvious with the fans who requested selfies and autographs following the match.
Friday evening Mboko learned that her first-round opponent will be Lulu Sun. The 24-year-old New Zealander ranks No. 45, and is a gritty competitor. But in the sporting lingo of the French, she is prenable (beatable).
The Mboko – Sun match will be on Sunday.
14 – COUNT ’EM
There’s a tribute to Rafael Nadal at the Tenniseum on the grounds at Roland Garros. This is a wall in the exhibition that records all 14 of his titles.
