Takeaways: Mboko outlasts Tauson to set up fourth-round test against Sabalenka

Fast-rising Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will face the toughest test of her fledgling WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz career yet in the form of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

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The 19-year-old No. 17 seed sealed a second-week berth regrouped after failing to convert three match points in the second set of an eventual 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3 win over No. 14 seed Clara Tauson in the third round on Friday, a win that puts her through to the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career in just her fourth main draw played.

Simultaneously, two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka was navigating her own tough test inside Rod Laver Arena to reach the second week in Melbourne for a sixth year in a row. Up against good friend Anastasia Potapova, Sabalenka found herself reeled in from a 7-6(4), 4-0 lead -- and eventually, saved four set points in the second-set tiebreak to win 7-6(4), 7-6(7).

Mboko: Self-belief was the key

Mboko did not come close to losing a set in each of her first two matches of her Australian Open debut, and looked on course to do the same against Tauson. After edging out an opening set tiebreak after being ahead by a break of serve twice, Mboko came from an early break down to build a 7-6(5), 5-3 lead. 

But Tauson found her best tennis in the next games -- most crucially, when she was one point from defeat three times serving down 5-4. Five games in a row went to the Dane to not just earn her the second set, but an early break in the third. 

Mboko later said "self-belief" was what helped her get over the finish line in 2 hours and 19 minutes. She broke back immediately, the start of a four-game run of her own, and hammered back-to-back backhand winners to clinch the match from 30-30 in the final game.

"I had so many chances in the second set but I have to give credit where its due, she was playing incredible tennis, so I just had to lock in in the important moments," Mboko said afterwards. "When you have those chances like that, and you're up in the match, and you have opportunities to finish but don't take it, it can be very discouraging. But that's why there's a third set, and I was able to regroup, find my groove again, and get it done. ... I really fought hard today."

With the loss, Tauson drops to 0-3 in her career in Australian Open third rounds.

Sabalenka's second-week streak continues

In two previous matches against Potapova, Sabalenka surrendered just seven games in four sets played. And after the tightest set between the two so far in a 1 hour and 4-minute opener, she won 16 of the first 19 points in set two. 

"She played incredible tennis. I was always on the back foot, and to be honest, there are days where you just have to be there, to fight and try your best to put the ball back," she said. "Even though emotionally I was all over the place, I was able to still fight for every point ... and I'm just super happy that I was able to get this win. It was such a fight and I really enjoyed it.

"I was just trying to calm myself down, which wasn't working well today, but at the same time, I was trying to figure out how to connect my body. It seemed like everything was working separate. My brain was somewhere else, my arms were going one direction ... and I was looking to put pressure on her, to try to let her play basically, and somehow, magically, I was able to get this win."

Sabalenka has now made the fourth-round or better at the last 13 Grand Slam events she has contested dating back to a third-round loss at Roland Garros in 2022.