Victoria Mboko advanced to an all-Canadian semifinal, defeating Leylah Fernandez 2-6 6-3 6-2 to set up a final with Spain’s Cristina Bucsa at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.
“It feels incredible,” she said. “It’s never easy playing your friend. She played unbelievable and it was such a tough match, but I’m so glad I got through today.”
The 19-year-old Mboko, ranked 21st, was winless after winning her first title in Montreal this summer but has since won six of her last seven matches, in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Mboko hit 17 winners against 34 unforced errors, but relied on her high first serve percentage (77 percent).
Bucsa outshot Maya Joint, 6-3 6-1, the 68th-ranked Spaniard is in her first career final.
“She’s in the final for a reason – what’s in the past is in the past,” Mboko said of Bucsa, who they beat this year in the qualifiers in Rome. “I know it will be a tough match. I hope I can bring some good tennis as well.”
