Victoria Mboko vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: Match Preview
Mboko is the story of the tournament, and one of the stories of the year so far. At 18, the Canadian has a 50-9 record on the season—including ITF tournaments—and she just recorded the most impressive of those 50 when she beat Coco Gauff in a little over an hour on Saturday. The crowds in Montreal will be big and loud and in her favor; Mboko says it makes a difference.
“I just used the crowd to my advantage as much as I could,” she said after her last win. “I think it helped me tremendously, especially in the last game, since they were so encouraging me. It was just amazing.”
At the same time, though, Bouzas Maneiro has been making her own, quieter breakthroughs of late. In the last two months, the 22-year-old from Spain has risen from No. 73 to No. 51, reached her first fourth-round at a major, at Wimbledon, and has won three three-set matches in Montreal.
Both women are good athletes who like to take full cuts at their forehands and two-handed backhands, and they’ll push each other from corner to corner. Mboko, at 5-foot-10, is three inches taller; she’ll have the advantage on the serve, but Bouzas Maneiro should match her mobility.
“She’s put in a lot of power in her game,” Bouzas Maneiro says of Mboko. “I need to be there every point. It’s local. I know that she’s going to have all the support, but I’m ready for that.”
Mboko could be vulnerable to a letdown, and Bouzas Maneiro is the type of stubborn-minded opponent who could easily play the role of spoiler in a situation like this. But I’ll say that Mboko, buoyed by the crowd, will have enough momentum in her sails to get past her in the end. Winner: Mboko