National Bank Open: Canada’s Mboko aims to extend remarkable run into semifinals

Can Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko continue her incredible run? We’re about to find out.

Two nights after Mboko scored a major upset over Coco Gauff — the world No. 2 and top seed in the National Bank Open presented by Rogers — the 18-year-old from Burlington, Ont., is set for a quarter-final matchup against world No. 51 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. Theirs will be the second match of the night in Montreal, with the first starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Mboko is the last Canadian standing in her national open, the only Canadian to advance to the fourth round after downing Gauff in straight sets for the biggest upset of her young career. She started the year ranked 337th, then rattled off four straight wins on the ITF Challenger Tour, made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open and won matches both there and at Wimbledon.

Now Mboko is orchestrating upset after upset on home soil in a Masters 1000 event, and the world No. 85 is looking to keep that streak going against Bouzas Maneiro, the world No. 51. Though Bouzas Maneiro has won just one WTA 125 title, earlier this season the Spaniard took out No. 9 Emma Navarro at the French Open.

Mboko is riding a high after dropping the world No. 2 in front of a sold-out crowd in her home country, and her success in Montreal means a top-50 ranking is within reach. As Brother Sportsnet before the NBO began: “A couple of months ago, I would have never thought I would be here.”

Now here she is, just three wins away from a Canadian Open title.

Toronto’s No. 1 still standing

Toronto’s men’s draw will feature a quarter-final matchup between a pair of former NBO champions.

The match will see No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev take on Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the 18th seed, at 7 p.m. ET.

Zverev is the 2020 Olympic gold medallist, world No. 3 and three-time Grand Slam runner up. The German faces the NBO defending champion in Popyrin, who won his first (and to date, only) Masters 1000 title last season in Montreal.

Zverev, meanwhile, won the NBO back in 2017, beating the great Roger Federer in two sets.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE (All times ET)

Women’s quarterfinals: Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+, 6 p.m.
Men’s quarterfinals: Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+, 7 p.m.

MATCH SCHEDULE (All times ET)

Centre Court (starts at 4:30 p.m.)
Arthur Fils (France) / Ben Shelton (U.S.) vs. [4] Kevin Konietz (Germamy) / Tim Puetz (Germany)

Not before 7 p.m.
[1] Alexander Zverev (Germany) vs. [18] Alexei Popyrin (Australia)
[26] Alex Michelsen (U.S.) vs. [11] Karen khachanov (Russia)

Motorola razr Grandstand Court (starts at 4;30 p.m.)
Guido Andreozzi (Argentina) / Sander Arends (Netherlands) vs. [2] Julian Cash (Great Britain) / Lloyd Glasspool (Great Britain)
[1] Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) / Mate Pavic (Croatia) vs. [6] Joe Salisbury (Great Britain) / Neal Skupski (Great Britain)
[3] Harri Heliovaara (Finland) / Henry Patten (Great Britain) Or Fernando Romboli (Brazil) / John-Patrick Smith (Australia) vs. Maximo Gonzalez (Argentina) / Andres Molteni (Argentina)

Centre Court (starts at 4 p.m.)

Coco Gauff (US) / McFarteyer Kessler vs. Olga Danilovic (Serbia) / Su-weieh (Taiwan)

Not before 6 p.m.
[24] Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) vs [9] Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
[Wild card] Victoria MBoko (Canada) vs. JESSICA BOUZAS MANA (SPAIN)