Canberra, Jan 16 (IANS) Canada’s Victoria Mboko beat Kimberly Birrell of Australia in straight sets on Friday to advance to the Adelaide International final.

World No. 17 Mboko was dominant in a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 59 minutes in the semifinals of the warm-up event for the Australian Open.

The 19-year-old, who was named the newcomer of the year by the Women’s Tennis Association in 2025, won nine consecutive games to take control of Friday’s contest.

A forehand down the line on her second match point was Mboko’s 24th winner compared to just seven for Birrell.

“It feels nice because all my other matches have gone pretty long, but I was glad I could be more aggressive today,” Mboko said on court after the match, as reported by Xinhua.

Mboko will play either world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva or 23rd-ranked Diana Shnaider in Saturday’s final before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2026, begins on Sunday.

Mboko would claim a third title in under six months with a victory on Saturday after she won her first career singles title at the Canadian Open in August and her second at November’s Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Earlier, Mboko, 19, defeated ninth-ranked Keys 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in one hour and 53 minutes for her second career victory against a top-10 opponent.

Eighth seed Mboko struck first by breaking Keys early to take the opening set but struggled to match the American’s powerful serving in the second. In the deciding set, Mboko was clinical on serve, winning 75 percent of points on her first delivery and capitalising on the only break opportunity she earned.

Mboko’s rapid rise has been one of the standout stories of the season. She was named WTA Newcomer of the Year after lifting the National Bank Open title in Montreal and climbing from world number 333 at the start of the year to number 18 in the rankings.

Birrell was on Thursday drawn to play compatriot Maddison Inglis in the first round of the Australian Open.

–IANS

hs/