Victoria Mboko fell just short of her third career title on Saturday.
The Canadian lost the final of the Qatar Open in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 to the Czech Karolina Muchova.
Still, Mboko’s run will take her into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time, making her the seventh Canadian to achieve the feat on either the men’s or women’s list.
Mboko struggled a bit on serve against Muchova, facing eight break points and saving only five. The Canadian also won only 62 percent of the points on the first serve, compared to 77 percent for Muchova.
She converted during her only break opportunity.
“Reaching the final is generally positive, but never negative,” Mboko said at her post-match press conference. “She played really great tennis. Playing top 10 players, my first time here too, I didn’t have a lot of expectations (for) myself.
It was the first meeting between the players. Mboko is now 13-4 in singles this season.
“She was just sharper in the key areas. She was able to stay solid in those areas where I think I missed a lot more than she did. She had some really great shots that put me on the defensive,” Mboko said.
Mboko, the 19-year-old from Toronto, was outside the top 300 early last season. She went on a major winning streak below tour level before capturing the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers title last August in Montreal.
She claimed her second WTA title at the Hong Kong Open in November.
It was her second final of the season, losing to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the Adelaide International final in January.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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