Coco Gauff ‘felt like she was playing herself’ when she faced youngster Victoria Mboko
Coco Gauff was given a scare by rising star Victoria Mboko during her opening match at the Italian Open and after she gave her assessment of the Canadian.
Nearly three years after she made her WTA Tour debut at the age of 15, Mboko is on the rise as she won her maiden WTA-level match at the Miami Open in March.
She had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw in Rome, but she defeated Italian wildcard Arianna Zucchini 6-2, 6-3 in the first round to set up a mouthwatering clash against fourth seed Gauff.
The 18-year-old gave the 2023 US Open winner a big scare as she took the opening set 6-3 before the American hit back to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Gauff claimed nine breaks of serve, but Mboko also had some joy as she converted six of her seven break points.
“Obviously the last two sets were a lot better. It was tough finding, like, my rhythm. I find the conditions are so much slower than Madrid. I felt it was impossible to hit a winner,” the current world No 3 stated.
“Victoria played great tennis. She forced me to play like that. So full credit to her.
“I was pretty composed because I felt like I was playing the right way in the first, just not necessarily connecting on some shots. I just felt like if I just started to land more balls in, it would go my way.
Gauff added: “First I saw her Miami Open. I didn’t know much about her before, but I’ve been following her since Miami. I think she’s a great player. I knew it was going to be a tough match.
“Like the ranking difference looks different, but she’s playing top-level tennis. I approached the match that way. It’s not a case of underestimation. I knew she was going to come out there and play great. Maybe I psyched myself out a little bit in the first set.
Mboko started the year at No 333 in the WTA Rankings, but she started the tournament at No 156 and will jump another 19 places to No 137 after her opening-round victory.
Gauff herself took the tennis world by storm as a 15-year-old when she reached the main draw at Wimbledon.
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Asked if she saw an 18-year-old version of herself, she replied: “For sure in the movement. I felt like playing myself because I feel like I move pretty well, she moves very well.
“But she obviously has a great game, so I don’t want to say her game is like mine. For sure on the movement, I would say she’s up there with me on that.
“As far as the other parts of her game, she’s obviously a big hitter, can play well, moves pretty well, has a nice backhand, same on the forehand.
“I don’t want to say she plays like me ’cause she obviously doesn’t. We’re like closer in age. I would say on the movement side athletically she’s one of the best athletes on tour.”
