Victoria Mboko will see the world No. 2-ranked player, Coco Gauff, in the round of 16 at the National Bank Open.
The pregame narrative: Mboko is the underdog in this meeting, which goes without saying. The rising star will need the biggest win of her career to advance to the quarterfinal in front of the Canadian crowd in Montreal.
Check out our Mboko vs. Gauff odds and my best bet for the National Bank Open match on Friday, Aug. 1.
Mboko vs. Gauff odds: National Bank Open
This could be a breakout moment for the Canadian in front of her home fans.
Mboko is a pretty sizeable underdog in her round of 16 match with Gauff, but she does hold some notable advantages. Let’s take a look.
Round of 16 best bet
Best bet: Mboko over 9.5 games won (-134)
- The 18-year-old has held 77% of her service points at the National Bank Open compared to Gauff, who’s held 63% of her serves.
- Mboko also has the power advantage, serving 1.1 aces per game while Gauff recorded just 0.25 through two matches.
That should make her tough to break, which will lead to games adding up in her favour.
The aspiring star does her best work on this playing surface. She’s 15-2 on outdoor hardcourts and 19-1 on indoor hardcourts this season.
Additionally, Gauff has struggled to this point in the tournament, needing all three sets to get past each of her first two opponents.
Mboko won two of three matches in straight sets.
Full Mboko vs. Gauff betting markets
This means, despite playing one less match, Gauff has played almost an hour more of tennis to reach the round of 16.
That also presumably gives the Canadian the stamina advantage in this match.
I believe Mboko is a live dog in this contest, and I’ll gladly back her on a fairly modest total that she can still cover in a straight set loss.
When these two met in May, Gauff won in three sets. However, that was contested on clay, which is the American’s best surface (73.1% win rate).
Key stat: This time around, it will be Mboko who is on her best court type as she has a 76.3% win rate in her career across all hard courts.
Mboko vs. Gauff odds and best bet as of 1:13 p.m. ET on 08/01/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.