Teenage star Victoria Mboko stuns Jelena Ostapenko to reach Qatar Open final

The 19-year-old Canadian swept aside world No 24 Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in just 74 minutes in the Doha semi-finals. At 19 years and 166 days, Mboko is the fourth-youngest finalist in tournament history, behind Maria Sharapova (2005), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Ostapenko herself (2016).

Mboko is now bidding for her second WTA 1000 title, having claimed her maiden crown in Montreal last year, and is chasing a third WTA Tour title overall.

Speaking on court, Mboko said: "It's crazy. She was playing really great tennis from the start, so I felt like I had to step it up. I'm happy to be here in the final and I want to thank everyone who came to support - there are more people every round."

Asked about her physical condition after several long matches earlier in the week, she added: "I feel pretty good. It's part of the game. Sometimes matches are long, sometimes they're shorter, but recovery is really important and I'm doing everything I can to be ready."

Already world No 13 coming into the week, Mboko climbed three places in the live rankings following her semi-final win to a projected career-high of 10th. Victory over Ostapenko also guarantees her first-ever top-10 ranking when the standings update next week.

Had Mboko fallen in the semi-finals, she risked being overtaken by Karolina Muchova, who defeated Maria Sakkari in the second semi-final. Instead, Mboko now sits on 3,246 live ranking points, with Muchova able to reach a maximum of 3,058 even if she wins the title.

If Mboko goes on to lift the trophy in Saturday's final Muchova, her total would rise to 3,596 points, enough to move past Elina Svitolina and climb to world No 9.

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