The battle of the WTA’s teenage prodigies didn’t go the way of Victoria Mboko as the Canadian No. 1 lost 6-3, 6-1 to Mirra Andreeva in Friday’s Adelaide International final.
Mboko suffered her first loss in a tour final after playing nearly nine hours in her five matches combined in Adelaide, but she still inches closer to cracking the Top 15, moving one spot up the rankings to No. 16.
The Canuck took early control of the opening set up 3-0, however, Andreeva settled into the title match, winning nine games on the fly. Mboko ended her opponent’s run of consecutive games to get on the board in the second but looked to be battling something throughout the set as she ultimately lost the contest in a little over an hour.
Despite playing more than double as many games as Andreeva has in this event, Mboko had the livelier start to the final. The Torontonian brushed off the world No. 8’s early pressure, saving a break point in the opening game. At 0-1, 30-40, Mboko picked her spot to go on the attack in the length rally to force the loss of serve, before a hold put the world No. 17 out in front 3-0.
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Down an early break for the second-straight match, Andreeva mounted yet another dominant comeback. The 18-year-old went on to win 20 of the next 25 points, winning five-straight games to turn the tides of the opening set to lead 5-3.
Mboko managed to save two break points after going down 15-40 in the ninth game but the Canadian was unable to save a third, hitting her backhand wide for her 21st unforced error of the opener.
Andreeva’s commanding run carried over into the second as her streak extended to nine games won in a row to hold a 3-0 advantage. Mboko took a medical timeout following the third game but came out strong, going on the attack to save a break point and stay within reach of the world No. 8 at 1-3.
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However, Andreeva only lengthened her lead, winning eight of ten points to get the chance to serve for the championship. At 5-1, 15-30, the 18-year-old fired three-straight unreturned serves to secure her fourth-career WTA title.
Mboko’s next match will be against another fellow teen as she makes her Australian Open debut, facing 17-year-old Australian wildcard Emerson Jones early next week.
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Feature Photo: Tennis Canada
