Canada’s Victoria Mboko secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open by defeating Alexandra Eala of the Philippines with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. The third-seeded Mboko showcased her skills with eight aces and managed to break Eala five times while maintaining a solid 67% first-serve points won.
The 19-year-old talent from Toronto will now face the sixth-seeded Anna Kalinskaya from Russia in the upcoming match. Mboko’s advancement adds to the Canadian presence in the final eight alongside Leylah Fernandez.
In a separate match, Fernandez, seeded second in the tournament, progressed to the quarterfinals after a convincing straight-sets victory of 6-4, 6-1 against Eva Lys from Germany. Fernandez is set to compete against the seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea from Romania in the next round.
Meanwhile, Félix Auger-Aliassime, hailing from Montreal, secured a spot in the Paris Masters quarterfinals following a hard-fought victory over Daniel Altmaier from Germany with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Auger-Aliassime, the ninth seed, displayed a strong performance by winning 87% of his first-serve points and converting three out of 10 break opportunities. Notably, he delivered seven aces during the match, which lasted two hours and 11 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime’s recent success follows his previous win against Alexandre Muller from France, where he triumphed with a score of 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), relying on 21 aces to secure the victory.
With his sights set on the ATP Finals, Auger-Aliassime, currently ranked ninth in the ATP Race to Turin standings, remains in contention for a spot in the season-ending event. His victory in the quarterfinals added 3,395 points to his Race to Turin total, placing him 290 points behind eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti. Auger-Aliassime’s upcoming match against Valentin Vacherot in the quarterfinals provides him with an opportunity to close the gap and potentially secure a berth in the ATP Finals.
Following the Paris Masters, the competition for ATP Finals qualification intensifies, with limited opportunities available to accumulate points before the season-ending event in Turin. Vacherot, ranked 40th in the world, continued his impressive form by defeating Cameron Norrie from Britain in the Round of 16, extending his winning streak at the Masters level. His recent success includes a victory at the ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai, where he triumphed over his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
The thrilling matches and intense competition set the stage for exciting developments in the tennis world as players vie for coveted spots in prestigious events like the ATP Finals.