Victoria Mboko’s maiden Grand Slam main draw run is just getting started at Roland-Garros while Leylah Annie Fernandez suffered a rare early exit on the dirt in Paris.
Mboko’s first Grand Slam main draw match goes straight into the win column.
The teenager from Toronto continued her impressive 2025 campaign, improving to 41-5 on the year after defeating world No. 45 Lulu Sun 6-1, 7-6(4) in the Roland-Garros first round on Sunday.
Like her three-setter against Coco Gauff in Rome earlier this month, Mboko had a strong opening set. The Canadian No. 4 won 81 per cent of her first-serve points while converting on both of her break points in the set. In the second, Mboko fired four of her seven aces in the match and saved six break points as she went on to win in the tiebreak.
The 18-year-old’s victory made her the youngest Canadian to have earned a win at a Grand Slam.
Mboko showed no sign of nerves in the opening game of her maiden Grand Slam main draw. The Canadian was facing break point in her first service game but, at 30-40, the world No. 120 won the ensuing three points to hold.
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After managing a break in the second game, Mboko ran away with the set, only dropping three points in the next three games to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
Sun held which allowed Mboko to serve for the set, a serve that the Kiwi had no answer for.
At 30-love, the Canadian No. 4 fired a forehand winner off Sun’s return, one of the 18-year-old’s 27 winners in the match. Then on set point, Mboko’s serve was too much for the New Zealand No. 1 to handle. The Canadian’s fourth unreturned serve of the first seven games handed Mboko the opening set in under half an hour.
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To begin the second set, neither player dropped a point on serve until the fourth game.
At 30-40, Mboko hit back-to-back backhand winners to save break point and hold an advantage before another unreturned serve levelled the set at 2-2.
In the sixth game, the teenager from Toronto faced her toughest test on serve in the match. At 30-all, a rare Mboko double fault gave Sun her second break point of the set. The Canadian managed to save but faced four more break points in the game, saving all of them before eventually holding after the tenth deuce.
Both players didn’t face a break point for the remainder of the set as the second set was off to a tiebreaker.
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In the tiebreak, one point on return was all Mboko needed. The 18-year-old won all her six points on serve as the Canadian booked her place into the French Open second round.
Mboko’s round of 64 opponent will be German No. 1 Eva Lys on Wednesday.
Fernandez struggles against Danilovic
Fernandez suffered her earliest exit at Roland-Garros on Sunday, losing 6-3, 6-1 to fellow lefty Olga Danilovic in the opening round.
Fernandez struggled on serve throughout the match. The former French Open junior champion was broken five times, winning just 57 per cent of her first-serve points. Danilovic was aggressive on Fernandez’s second serve as the Canadian only won 25 per cent of those points.
At 15-30 in the first game, Fernandez hit her forehand long, giving Danilovic the opportunity for an early break. The ensuing point, the Canadian No. 1’s backhand slice travelled wide as the 22-year-old went down 1-0.
Undeterred, Fernandez went up 15-40 in the following game, and after a Danilovic double fault, the 22-year-old from Laval broke back.
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The Canadian was then able to avoid being on the wrong end of a break back, saving break point to eventually hold and take a 2-1 lead.
Fernandez’s struggles on serve continued in the fourth game. At love-30, the Canadian misplaced her forehand and faced three break points. Fernandez managed to save all three but lost the ensuing two points to be broken for the second time in the set. Danilovic then held to lead 4-2.
At 5-3, Danilovic completed the trifecta of breaks in the first set. Fernandez won just half of her first-serve points in the opener as the world No. 27 dropped the set.
Fernandez had a great chance to start the second set off with a break at 30-40 but couldn’t convert before a pair of unforced errors gave the Serbian No. 1 the hold.
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The second set featured much of the same in terms of Fernandez’s service game. The 22-year-old from Laval was broken for the second-straight time and was unable to break back as Danilovic went up 3-0.
In the sixth game, a fifth break for the world No. 34 allowed her to serve for the match. At 30-all Danilovic powered a backhand passing shot to hold match point where another strong backhand sent the Serb through to the next round.
Only four Canadians remain in the singles draw with all three on the men’s side playing their opening match tomorrow.
Fernandez will begin her women’s doubles campaign on Wednesday as she pairs with Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
Photo Credit: Martin Sidorjak
