Victoria Mboko reached the first WTA Tour quarter-final of her career after shocking top seed Coco Gauff at the Canadian Open.
Mboko sealed her passage to the final eight with an impressive 6-1 6-4 victory over Gauff, who continued to struggle on serve.
The two-time grand slam champion had six double faults in the match, adding to the 37 she registered in her first two contests at the tournament.
Mboko started the encounter as she meant to go on with an opening break of serve before reeling off the final four games to edge closer to a huge upset.
And though Gauff improved in the second, she missed two chances to get the better of Mboko's serve in the seventh game, an error that proved costly.
The Canadian wildcard was able to break Gauff in the final game of the set, sealing her passage after her opponent found the net with a backhand.
"Coming into the match, I was so locked in," Mboko said. "It's incredible. I'm so happy to beat such a great champion.
"I tried to keep my composure as much as I could, especially playing in front of so many people. This is a very special experience for me."
Mboko will now face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a place in the semi-finals after the Spaniard beat Zhu Lin 7-5 1-6 6-2.
Data Debrief: A star is born
Mboko's rise up the WTA rankings continued here as she chalked off the biggest win of her career against Gauff, a triumph that will move her up to 53rd in the world, having come into the tournament ranked 85th.
The 18-year-old is the youngest quarter-finalist at the Canadian Open since Gauff in 2022, while she is also the fifth-youngest player to defeat the top seed in a WTA-1000 event since the format's introduction in 2009.
She is also only the second wildcard in the Open Era to defeat the top seed at the Canadian Open, after Stephanie Dubois, who beat Kim Clijsters at the event in 2006.
