Mboko erases Adelaide sting with Doha comeback
In a pulsating third-round clash at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, Victoria Mboko turned the tables on Mirra Andreeva, saving match point to secure her first victory over the Russian teen and storm into the quarterfinals.
In the humid Doha evening, where floodlights cut through the haze, Victoria Mboko stared down Mirra Andreeva across the net, the ghosts of their Adelaide final hovering like uninvited spectators. The No. 10 seed Canadian, who had crumbled from a 3-0 lead in January, refused to repeat history this time. She dismantled the No. 5 Russian 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) over 2 hours and 10 minutes, saving one match point in a third set that crackled with teenage intensity, marking her third career Top 10 win and second WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
“I didn’t really have a specific tactic against her,” Mboko explained afterwards. “But I know she slices really well, and she hits really low. I think she forced me to hit those [slices and spins]. She covers the court really well, so I think for me it was just trying to find the little window to open the court. Yeah, I just found myself hitting those kinds of shots because that’s all I felt I could do.”
“I feel like I came out with some very clutch shots at the end,” said Mboko. “I think we both were pretty tired when it came to the tiebreak. I think I felt like I was lucky enough to have some good shots in the great moments.”
Power surges early, holds the line
Mboko’s first set unfolded as a clinic in baseline dominance on Doha’s speedy hard courts, where her heavy topspin forehands skidded low and forced Andreeva into defensive lobs. She carved out a 3-0 break lead with crosscourt lasers and inside-out backhands, tallying 15 winners—including five aces—to the Russian’s five, her aggression disrupting any early rhythm. When Andreeva leveled at 3-3 by mixing paces, the Canadian dug in at deuce, erasing two break points with consecutive down-the-line forehand winners that echoed off the stands, securing the hold and the 6-3 set.
This stand recalled Adelaide’s unraveling, where Andreeva had reeled off 12 of 13 games after a similar start, but Mboko’s mental reset turned potential collapse into control. Her simple point construction—serve followed by deep returns—kept the pressure on, the crowd’s murmurs building as the 19-year-old asserted her power edge. That opener set the tone for a rivalry now even at 1-1, with Mboko’s streak in deciders—13 wins in 14 since last year’s Wimbledon qualifying—hinting at deeper resilience.
Slices and drops flip the script
Andreeva struck back in the second, unleashing slices and drop shots to slow the rallies on the hard surface, where low-bouncing underspin could neutralize topspin bombs. She repelled four break points in the opening game, clinching the hold with a drop shot-pass combination that left Mboko lunging futilely, then broke right after via two moonballs into a shoulder-high double-handed drop and a lob winner that kissed the baseline. This variety boxed the Canadian in, slashing her winners to eight while her unforced errors stayed at 11, allowing the 18-year-old to level at 6-3 after Mboko had tied 3-3.
The shift exposed matchup nuances: Andreeva’s low slices forced Mboko to bend and redirect, breaking the rhythm of her 1–2 patterns and drawing out errors in longer exchanges. As the set tightened, the Russian’s adaptability pulled the match to her terms, the air thick with tension from the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. For ongoing action in Doha, follow the Scores, Draws, or Order of play.
Heating up in Doha 🔥
Mirra Andreeva | #QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/ZJqoQnFTh0— wta (@WTA) February 11, 2026
Tiebreak nerves forge new chapter
The third set ignited both players’ highest gear, magnificent rallies unfolding as Andreeva snagged an early break for 2-1 with an inside-in forehand, only for Mboko to counter immediately via a crosscourt backhand winner that tested her coverage. They traded creativity toe-to-toe, the Canadian absorbing slices with her own spins and patiently probing for angles in extended points, the fatigue evident in every slide and grunt. At 4-4, Mboko’s two double faults gifted the break, but Andreeva’s match point at 5-4 evaporated on her own double fault, the slip sending a ripple through the hushed crowd.
The tiebreak distilled the drama, five points falling to clean winners amid edgier serves, Mboko’s angled backhand pass on the run carving a 5-3 lead—the match’s first two-point buffer. Her backhand wavered on the initial match points, but she doubled down with an inside-out winner off that side on the third, her 38th of the day, clinching the upset as cheers erupted. This escape, her second from match point down this year alongside Magdalena Frech—echoing the two she saved against Anna Kalinskaya in Adelaide—propels her toward Elena Rybakina or Zheng Qinwen, her only recent decider loss to Elise Mertens at the United Cup a distant blip.
The #QatarTotalEnergiesOpen heated up with Andreeva’s flair, captured in that viral moment from pic.twitter.com/ZJqoQnFTh0 shared by WTA on February 11, 2026, yet Mboko’s tactical absorption of low balls and redirection with spin opened the court against her rival’s movement. Their Doha duel, reversing Adelaide on comparable hard courts, recalibrates the teen hierarchy, with Mboko’s growth from that qualifying heartbreak—missing five match points to Priscilla Hon in a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 defeat—signaling a player built for pressure. As the quarterfinal looms, her poise under fire suggests this rivalry will define seasons ahead, hard-court savvy the key to WTA breakthroughs.
