Written by Tennis Canada
Photo credit: Kimberly Hartwig
Last Sunday, Victoria Mboko claimed her first career senior-level ITF title, defeating American Madison Sieg 6-2, 6-0 in the Saskatoon Challenger final.
Mboko, the 15-year-old Toronto native, ousted tournament top-seed Valentini Grammatikopoulou, fellow Canadians Kayla Cross and Stacey Fung, and Elysia Bolton of the United States en route to the championship match.
Since dropping the first set in her opening-round match against Grammatikopoulou, Mboko won eight consecutive sets and was the clear-cut best player in all four of her matches. The streak would continue today against the 19-year-old Sieg.
In the first set, Mboko stormed her way to a 3-0 lead, and despite a response from Sieg in the fourth and fifth games, the Canadian was able to take care of business and clinched the set on her first set point opportunity in the eighth game.
The second set was more lopsided on paper, with Mboko winning all six games, but the score wasn’t indicative of Sieg’s play, as multiple games went to deuce, including the second game that Mboko won after trailing her opponent 15-40.
In the sixth game, the Canadian hit a ridiculous forehand down the line to set up two match points. Sieg, serving to stay in the match, hit both of her serves into the net, which would seal the victory and a first professional trophy for the young Canadian.
Welcome to the winners circle, Vicky!
