Marina Stakusic falls to Jacquline Cristian
Marina Stakusic was unable to build on a strong first set as she fell to Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
The Mississauga, Ont., native looked poised to complete the upset after a fast start, but Cristian got stronger as the match progressed, quickly taking the next two sets to advance to the second round.
Cristian will take on world No. 23 Linda Noskova in the second round. She is ranked at a career-best 49th as she searches for the first singles title of her career.
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The Canadian came out of the gates quickly, holding on her first service game and following up with a break of Cristian to open a 2-0 lead in the first set. Stakusic continued to put pressure on Cristian for the remainder of the set, leaning on a flurry of powerful forehand winners before converting her second break to take the first set 6-2.
The world No. 49 turned the tables to start the second set, breaking Stakusic at love to begin before holding to take a 2-0 lead. The 20-year-old Canadian committed several unforced errors on her previously strong forehand as Cristian broke her once again, eventually taking the second set 6-2 to force a third.
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Cristian got off to another fast start in the third, breaking Stakusic once again to start the set for the early lead. Things fell apart for the Canadian from that point on, as she was broken three times by Cristian in the deciding set.
Stakusic, ranked No. 142 in the world, reached the second round at the NBO last year when she defeated Erika Andreeva for her first WTA 1000-level win.
This was the first match between the two on the WTA Tour.
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Mboko Victorious in Montreal Debut
Victoria Mboko’s first National Bank Open main-draw match was an impressive one. The rising Canadian star overpowered Australia’s Kimberly Birrell on Sunday in straight sets to become the first Canadian winner at the 2025 NBO.
The 18-year-old started applying pressure early and, even though Birrell did not go away quietly, Mboko’s firepower proved too much. She was able to serve her way to a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
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The pair exchanged breaks in the early stages, with Mboko striking first to go up 2-0 only for Birrell to claw back to 2-2. From there, the pair began exchanging routine holds. The young Canadian found a rhythm on her own serve, holding to love three times in a row to go up 6-5.
Serving to stay in the set, Birrell played a poor game, going down 15-40 and then spraying backhand well wide to gift the opening set to Mboko.
Early in the second set, the Canadian piled on the pressure and Birrell started to crack again. On the fourth break point of the game, the Aussie double faulted to hand the advantage to Mboko.
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It seemed like every time she needed it, Mboko was able to conjure up a big serve to maintain the advantage. On the lone break point she faced at 4-2, she blasted an ace past the Aussie. Then, serving for the match at 5-3, she finished it off with back-to-back big serves.
Mboko will face former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, the 23rd seed, in the second round.
