Victoria Mboko brushed off any fitness concerns after reaching the Doha final as the Canadian noted that she felt "pretty good."
After surviving three-set marathons against Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina, Mboko had a much more routine day at the office against Jelena Ostapenko, ousting the Latvian 6-3 6-2 to reach the Qatar Open final.
“I mean, it’s crazy. She was playing really great tennis from the start, so I felt like I had to step it up. No, I’m happy to be here in the final, and I want to thank everyone who came here to support, there’s a lot of people, there’s a lot more in each round, so thank you, everyone, for coming," the 19-year-old said in her on-court interview after beating Ostapenko.
Mboko: Sometimes you play longer, sometimes shorter… It's a part of the game
As mentioned above, Mboko has had some tough and dramatic matches this week. However, when asked if there were any fitness concerns on her side, the No. 10 seed was quick to shut it down.
“I feel pretty good, it’s a part of the game. Sometimes you have really long matches, sometimes it’s shorter. But it’s important to rest up, take recovery into perspective, and just do everything I can to be ready for tomorrow," the 19-year-old noted.
In the Doha final, Mboko will play against No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova. It will be the first meeting between the two.
As you probably remember, Mboko became a WTA 1000 champion in an impressive way last summer after winning Montreal as a wildcard ranked outside the top-80. The Canadian has since also won her second title in Hong Kong, so the Doha final will be an opportunity for her to win her third title.
On the other side, Muchova will look to win only her second WTA title.
