Coco Gauff has been touted as the heir apparent to Serena Williams in US tennis, especially since her sensational triumph two years ago at Flushing Meadows. After all, the World No.2 has mirrored the 23-time slam queen in various achievements. In fact, her US Open triumph made her the youngest American to win the major since a 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999. Last year, she won the WTA Finals and became the first American since Williams clinched the honor in 2014. Even this season, Gauff became the first from her country to win the Suzanne Lenglen trophy since—yeah, you guessed it right—Williams in 2015. But guess what? The 21-year-old doesn’t believe drawing parallels between her and the tennis legend is ideal at all. Why so?

On Saturday night, Gauff faced a massive setback in Montreal. The two-time slam queen failed to overcome the challenge of teenage sensation Victoria Mboko. The 18-year-old toppled her in straight sets with a score line of 6-1, 6-4. Gauff had won their first meeting back in May this year in Rome. This time, however, Mboko took her sweet revenge. Needless to say, she was pretty dominant in her performance, wrapping the match in just an hour and two minutes. Gauff, of course, knew better than to underestimate her. “Yeah, she’s, I mean, a great player. I mean, we played on clay, so it might be a little, will be a different match. And obviously she’s gotten more experience just being on tour, playing high-level players,” she had said in her press conference following the match against Veronika Kudermetova.

Following the heartbreaking loss, she was asked during the press conference if there’s any similarity between her and Mboko. But Gauff doesn’t like the idea of comparisons at all. “No, she’s a completely different player, completely different person,” she said. And although her Wimbledon debut as a 15-year-old saw her stun Venus Williams, she made it crystal clear that she has never been a huge fan of comparison with either of the Williams sisters.

“I’ve never been one to compare myself to others, whether it be like people comparing me to Serena or Venus, and I don’t think it’s fair to put that on her (Mboko) as well.” Hoping for a bright future for her Canadian Open rival, she said, “I do see someone who is going to have a really bright future, for sure.”

Explaining why she thinks Mboko could be on her way to massive success, she added, “I mean, she’s very athletic. She’s a great ball striker, and she seems pretty positive out there on the court, doesn’t get really too negative. I mean, I don’t know her too well, but l’ve gotten to talk to her a little bit over the course since Rome.”

While she may have lost the latest battle against the Canadian, Coco Gauff still wants this rivalry to grow. “Yeah, hopefully we have many more battles, and I look forward to playing her again in the future.” But what about Mboko? Well, she had a special reaction after besting the No.1 seed in Montreal.

Victoria Mboko shares honest thoughts on win against Coco Gauff

Victoria Mboko was overwhelmed after entering the quarterfinal stage of the Canadian Open. The feeling was surreal considering the fact that she won in front of her home fans. She began, “Oh my god. I really don’t know what to say,”

Reflecting on her performance against Gauff, she said, “I mean, before the match, I was quite a bit nervous ‘cause I actually played her before in Rome, and I just know how great of a player she is.” 

The teenager also talked about how she prepared for the big match. “So coming into the match, I was so locked in and yeah, 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, and I don’t even know right now.”

With the latest win against the American, Mboko has become the first Canadian to reach the last eight in Montreal since Bianca Andreescu did it in 2019. But that barely scratches the surface of the records that the teen broke by beating the No. 1 seed.

Now to make it to her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal, Mboko will have to go through Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday. Do you think the teenager can win her first big trophy at the Canadian Open? Let us know in the comments below.