Mboko ends slump with win over Andreescu at Tokyo Pan Pacific Open

Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko ended a four-match slump with a straight-sets victory over compatriot Bianca Andreescu in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Tuesday, halting a worrying run of defeats that followed her breakthrough win at the Canadian Open in August. Mboko won 6-3, 6-3 and later teamed with Andreescu to reach the women's doubles quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old from Toronto rose rapidly this season, jumping from outside the top 300 to sit just inside the top 25 after her maiden WTA title in Montreal, where she beat top-seeded Coco Gauff in the last 16 and defeated former world number one Naomi Osaka in the final. That triumph was followed by a slump in which Mboko failed to win a set in four consecutive main-draw matches. Her win in Tokyo ended that streak and offered a chance to rebuild momentum ahead of the offseason.

"I can look back and at least feel good about what I've been able to do," Mboko said. "I would have never thought at all that I'd be where I am today. It's just building onwards and upwards, and hopefully for next year I can build some sort of momentum and keep it very positive within myself." She added that she tried to stay true...