Victoria Mboko will play for a title before she is off to Roland-Garros.
The Canadian No. 1 battled against Jaqueline Cristian, overcoming a slight injury in the second set to defeat the Romanian 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 in the Internationaux de Strasbourg semifinals on Friday.
Mboko had a slow start to the match but still managed to crawl back from 0-3 down and take the opening set despite committing 28 of her 58 unforced errors. The top seed’s aggressiveness in her return games helped her cross the finish line as she held 14 break points on the day, capitalizing on four.
Nothing came easy on either player’s serve early in the match. Mboko applied some pressure with two break points in the opening game but couldn’t convert as Cristian held after eight minutes. The Romanian had a pair of break opportunities for herself at 15-40 in the ensuing game, forcing the early loss of serve on the second try. The world No. 33 then held comfortably from 40-love to go 3-0 in front.
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Mboko kept knocking on the door as she tried to work her way back into the set. The Canadian brought her next two return games to 30-all but Cristian served well to secure the tight holds, eventually gaining the chance to serve out the opener at 5-3.
However, Mboko’s patience paid off, holding two opportunities to stay alive in the set at 15-40. The Burlingtonian did enough on the second attempt to remain in the opener at 4-5. The 19-year-old then fought off set point before extending the first.
Both players held at least one break point en route to the eventual tiebreaker, with Mboko saving a third set point in the 12th game. After losing the first rally, the Canadian won five points on the bounce to lead 5-1 at the changeover. Cristian cut into the deficit by a few, but a double fault handed Mboko her first set point at 6-3, needing just the one to clinch the opener.
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The start to the second set was virtually a copy and paste of the first. Mboko put pressure on Cristian in the Romanian’s opening service game but was again unable to convert the early break from 0-1, 15-40. Cristian broke in back-to-back return games following the stress, holding another strong lead at 4-1.
Mboko took a medical timeout prior to the sixth game but came out looking just fine, winning the next four balls to force the loss of serve and cut into the deficit. The Canuck soon had the chance to equalize at 4-3, 30-40, but Cristian held her nerve to stay a break in front. The Romanian then broke to seal the set, sending the semifinal to a decider.
After saving two break points in her first service game, Mboko pulled away with a crucial break in the third game. The world No. 9 didn’t let her early edge slip as the set’s frontrunner strung together her best run on serve, winning eight of nine service points to lead 4-2.
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Mboko broke in the seventh game to set herself up to serve for the match, continuing the strong spell on her delivery as she booked her place in the final, finishing the third set with 86 per cent of her first-serve points won.
Two Canadians will battle for a Strasbourg title on Saturday with Gabriela Dabrowski competing for the doubles crown alongside Luisa Stefani. Following that, Mboko looks for her first WTA title outside the hard courts as she faces American Emma Navarro.
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