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MONTREAL — She’s a rising star, a fighter — and now, a champion.
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Victoria Mboko did it again on Thursday night, rallying back through the pain of a wrist injury to defeat four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the National Bank Open final, capping a fairytale run that fans across Canada won’t soon forget.
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The 18-year-old Canadian tennis sensation dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around IGA Stadium’s centre court.
A crowd so rowdy, the umpire repeatedly asked fans to “please be quiet during the points.”
Mboko became the third Canadian to capture the title at the hometown tournament in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969) — and the first to do so in Montreal.
She will now climb to 25th in the women’s singles world rankings, a stunning rise after she began the year outside the top 300.
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