Coco Gauff was full of praise for her young opponent after surviving a massive scare at the Italian Open. Teenage star Victoria Mboko has been making waves on the ITF circuit this year and she came through qualifying to reach the main draw in Rome, setting a mouthwatering second-round clash with the No.4 seed.
The 18-year-old looked to be on her way to pulling off a huge upset when she broke Gauff three times in the first set and eventually took it 6-3. But the American stormed back to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 and shared a classy message to Mboko at the net.
Gauff came into Rome full of form after reaching the recent Madrid Open final. But she wasn’t the only one on a roll, as world No. 156 Mboko has been a winning machine this season.
The Canadian already had 33 wins under her belt for the season coming into their second-round contest, most of them coming on the ITF circuit. And she proved she was a threat when she raced into a 5-2 lead.
Gauff stormed back after losing the first set and sealed a three-set comeback victory but she was impressed with her opponent’s efforts, and microphones picked up her kind words to Mboko during the handshake.
“Keep your head up, okay? You did great,” Gauff told the 18-year-old, patting her on the shoulder.
The current world No. 3 was also full of praise for Mboko during her on-court interview, admitting she knew the teenager would be a threat.
“It was a tough match. Victoria, she came out playing some great tennis. I knew she was going to do that just from watching some of her previous matches,” Gauff told the crowd.
“Overall I’m just happy with I was able to step up my game. Wasn’t playing so well in the first set and on top of that she was playing some great tennis but I was able to reset.”
It was a big match for Gauff for an unusual reason. The 21-year-old has an apparel deal with New Balance, who provide her match kit, and Gauff teamed up with both New Balance and luxury fashion house Miu Miu to create her own collection.
The world No. 3 will be wearing three custom New Balance x Miu Miu looks at three tournaments across the season – the Italian Open, the grass event in Berlin, and the hard-court tournament in Cincinnati.
Her match kits are inspired by the colours of the tournament and, ahead of her opening match against Mboko, Gauff shared a photo of her outfit ready and laid out on the bed, comparing it to the first day of school.
Gauff’s Rome look is navy and white with hints of red. And it will live to see another day after she stormed back to beat Mboko. She will now face 32nd seed Magda Linette.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk