In the Hong Kong Open final, 19-year-old Victoria Mboko defeated the more seasoned Cristina Bucsa to win her second WTA title. Mboko added the Hong Kong title to her historic triumph at her native Canadian Open in August after defeating the Spaniard 7-5, 6-7 (9/11), 6-2 at Victoria Park. In Saturday’s semifinal, Mboko, who is now ranked 21st in the world, upset fellow Canadian and 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in three sets. Over the course of almost three hours, Mboko’s huge serve and hammering ground strokes progressively wore out her opponent, 27-year-old Bucsa, who is rated 68. Anna Blinkova of Russia defeated Lilli Tagger of Austria 6-3, 6-3 to win the Jiangxi Open in China as well.
Imphal