Miami Open 2026: Victoria Mboko cruises though; Coco Gauff survives three-set thriller

Rising Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko rolled through her second-round match against Anna Blinkova, 6-2, 6-0, Friday (20 March) at the 2026 Miami Open.

It was not quite as straight-forward as the scoreline might suggest with rain sending the two women back to the locker room shortly after getting underway in the first set.

When the match resumed, Mboko took charge, racing to the first set and not letting Blinkova take even a single game in the second.

The Canadian, playing in just her second Miami Open, fired off 32 winners for the dominant victory.

She'll now will face Anastasia Zakharova in the round of 32 on Sunday.

As Friday afternoon turned into the evening, world No. 4 Coco Gauff rallied to beat Italy's Elsabetta Cocciaretto, in two hours, 15 minutes, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Gauff looked solid early, holding comfortably twice as she edged ahead 3–2 in a tight opening set. But Cocciaretto stayed with her, absorbing the pressure in a lengthy fourth game that featured multiple deuces before the Italian steadied for 2–2.

But Gauff’s mounting errors later in the set - including a cluster of double faults - as she served to stay in the set down 2-5 caught up to the American.

Midway through the second set, however, the Delray Beach native slowly turned the tide, crediting a more consistent serve and feeling buoyed by the local crowd, which included two of her younger brothers.

Gauff would go down a break early in the third set, but dug in deep after falling behind 2-0 to win six of the final seven games. Cocciaretto couldn't track down a forehand on the third match point, the ball sailing long.

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