Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario has advanced to the third round at the 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal, Quebec. On Tuesday, Mboko upset the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-2, 6-3. Mboko is the 85th ranked player in the world. Kenin is the 27th ranked player in the world, and was ranked 23rd this week in Canada.
A major reason why Mboko delivered the win came down to the serve. Mboko had 12 aces compared to zero for Kenin. Mboko broke Kenin four times in 10 opportunities. Mboko saw Kenin’s serve extremely well throughout the match. The fact that Kenin did not have a single ace was noteworthy.
Mboko is the only Canadian women’s singles player left in the main draw. She will next face Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic, the 39th ranked player in the world in the third round on Thursday. Bouzkova is familiar to hockey fans, as she is dating Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
On the men’s side of the National Bank Open in Toronto there is one Canadian left in singles. That is Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Quebec, who beat Matteo Gigante of Italy 6-3, 7-6. Diallo had the advantage when it came to serving. Diallo had eight aces compared to five for Gigante, while Diallo had five double faults compared to six for Gigante.
Next up for Diallo is the second seed Taylor Fritz of the United States, the 2024 United States Open finalist. Fritz won their only prior meeting in the second round of Wimbledon in 2025, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
