Mboko Shocked by Upset Win

Canadian, 18, uses crowd's cheers as fuel to pump herself to defeat world No. 2 Gauff

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MONTREAL - Victoria Mboko took down top-seeded American Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Aug. 2, thrilling the Canadian Open crowd as she reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Montreal.

The Canadian wild card, 18, saved all four break points she faced and broke French Open champion Gauff three times on the way to victory in just 62 minutes.

"I don't even know what to say still, I was kind of shocked about it all," said Mboko, adding that the support of the home crowd had buoyed her late in the second set.

"I just remember in the last game when I was up 5-4, the crowd kind of started cheering even louder and everything got super noisy," she said. "I kind of used that as more fuel for myself and to pump myself up a little bit more.

"I think it helped me tremendously, especially in the last game, since they were so encouraging me. It was just amazing."

Mboko started the season ranked 333rd in the world and has worked her way up to 85th. But the win over Gauff - whom she took to three sets in Rome in May - is the biggest of her career.