Prior to the Miami Open, Victoria Mboko told Canadian media that she would like to face a Top 10 player to see how she stacked up against the best players in the world. The answer was “very well,” but it was not enough on Friday as she was narrowly beaten in the second round of her first WTA 1000 event by 10th seed Paula Badosa in three sets.
The match was highly competitive, full of long, hard-hitting rallies. There were plenty of moments when Mboko’s power blew the Spaniard off the court, including an impressive bounce-back after dropping the first set and a thrilling comeback in the third. But ultimately Badosa’s defensive skills were too much and she was able to grind the Canadian away 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(3).
There was precious little between the two women in the two-hour, 21-minute clash. Both broke their opponent five times, with Mboko having 10 chances to her the Spaniard’s nine. In the end, Badosa won just three more total points.
Mboko had to play behind for much of the opening set, but she did a good job of responding after slip-ups. In the opening game, a couple of nervy errors allowed Badosa to break but the Canadian immediately got the break back when the world No. 11 missed a forehand in the following game.
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Badosa again broke to take the lead at 3-2 but now the teen was finding her range. Some impressive big hitting allowed her to once again respond immediately and get back on serve. Unfortunately for Mboko, the backhand abandoned her late and it cost her. At 5-5, she netted back-to-back backhands to surrender the break and this time, she was unable to clap back as Badosa served out the set.
It seemed like the Spaniard was poised to run away with it when she had three chances to break in the opening game of the second set but Mboko held her ground, saving all three break points including two with big serves. That hold completely flipped the momentum as errors began to flow off of Badosa’s racquet. A couple of balls into the net in the following game handed a 2-0 lead to the Canadian.
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Everything was going Mboko’s way as Badosa had no answer for the youngster’s big hitting. Mboko missed a chance to make it a double break in the fourth game but at 4-1, the 18-year-old had a look at 15-40 on the Spaniard’s serve and Badosa cracked in the face of the teen’s power. She sent a forehand into the net to put Mboko within a game of extending the match, which she did with a hold.
Mboko had to play behind for much of the opening set, but she did a good job of responding after slip-ups. In the opening game, a couple of nervy errors allowed Badosa to break but the Canadian immediately got the break back when the world No. 11 missed a forehand in the following game.
Read also: Victoria Mboko Stepping Into the Spotlight After Incredible Start to 2025
Badosa again broke to take the lead at 3-2 but now the teen was finding her range. Some impressive big hitting allowed her to once again respond immediately and get back on serve. Unfortunately for Mboko, the backhand abandoned her late and it cost her. At 5-5, she netted back-to-back backhands to surrender the break and this time, she was unable to clap back as Badosa served out the set.
It seemed like the Spaniard was poised to run away with it when she had three chances to break in the opening game of the second set but Mboko held her ground, saving all three break points including two with big serves. That hold completely flipped the momentum as errors began to flow off of Badosa’s racquet. A couple of balls into the net in the following game handed a 2-0 lead to the Canadian.
Read also: Fernandez, Diallo Open Miami Campaigns with Wins
Everything was going Mboko’s way as Badosa had no answer for the youngster’s big hitting. Mboko missed a chance to make it a double break in the fourth game but at 4-1, the 18-year-old had a look at 15-40 on the Spaniard’s serve and Badosa cracked in the face of the teen’s power. She sent a forehand into the net to put Mboko within a game of extending the match, which she did with a hold.
