Victoria Mboko, 19, outlasts Cristina Bucsa in a three-set final to claim her second WTA title at the Hong Kong Open.
HONG KONG: Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko has captured her second WTA title by defeating Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the Hong Kong Open final.
The 19-year-old triumphed 7-5, 6-7 (9/11), 6-2 in a gruelling match lasting nearly three hours at Victoria Park.
Mboko, now at a career-high world ranking of 21, added this victory to her breakthrough win at the Canadian Open in August.
Her powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes gradually wore down the 68th-ranked Bucsa over the course of the match.
“It’s been an incredible week,” said the teenager, who had her father watching from the crowd.
“Wow, what a match, I’m so tired right now.”
“Cristina really pushed me to my limits.”
Mboko broke serve to claim the first set and raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
Bucsa fought back by winning three consecutive games to level the second set at 3-3.
The Spaniard then saved a championship point in the tiebreak to force a deciding third set.
Mboko regained her composure in the final set to secure the victory.
The match concluded when Bucsa hit a return into the net on championship point.
In other WTA action, Russia’s Anna Blinkova won the Jiangxi Open in China on the same day.
Blinkova defeated Austria’s Lilli Tagger 6-3, 6-3 to claim the title. – AFP
