Eight Canadian men combined for just three wins at the National Bank Open in Toronto, and none reached the third round. Both Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov lost their opening matches. Vasek Popisil at least put up a decent fight in the final match of his career, but went into retirement with a three-set setback against Facundo Bagnis.
The story in Montreal has been much different for the host nation.
A Canadian veteran also retired on the women’s side, but not before Genie Bouchard advanced one round. The 31-year-old won a three-set thriller against Emiliana Arango and then accounted herself extremely well while bowing out with a three-set loss to Belinda Bencic.
As we now head into the second week of this 1000-point event, the big story is Victoria Mboko.
The 18-year-old Canadian picked up the win of the tournament on Saturday night, when she upset Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Mboko won eight of nine break points (saving four of four while converting four of five) to cruise in a mere one hour and two minutes.
Already up to No. 85 in the world, Mboko has a golden opportunity to reach at least the semifinals with either Lin Zhu or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on the other side of the net on Monday. Mboko is projected to climb to 55th in the rankings if she loses in the quarters.
nice one, Mboko
Wonder if Coco can pick up the pieces before Flushing
that serve is a disaster