Fast-rising Mboko meets her match in Australian Open 4th round, losing to world No. 1 Sabalenka

Fast-rising Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, who has seemed unstoppable during her meteoric rise to the top of women's tennis, found the task against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka a little too daunting on Sunday at the Australian Open.

Mboko reached the fourth round in her Australian Open debut but fell to Sabalenka 6-1, 7-6 (1) in a match that looked to be a blowout until the end, when Sabalenka flinched just a little and Mboko nearly took advantage.

"What an incredible player for such a young age. It's incredible to see these kids coming up on tour," a visibly relieved Sabalenka said during her on-court interview in Melbourne. "I can't believe I'm saying this — I feel like I'm a kid still. She pushed me really hard today."

Mboko thought it would be "really cool" to play on the main stadium in the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, to show the fans who are just discovering the 19-year-old Canadian everything she's got.

What she found out, in her first-ever match against the world No. 1, was just how very much Sabalenka has. Especially in the big moments.

The sheer force of her power, will, confidence, variety, and defence combined to make it a mismatch until almost the very end.

Sabalenka was up 6-1, 4-1 and had two breaks of serve in that second set before her laser focus wavered just a little, and the nerves hit.

And Mboko, who has quickly earned a reputation as a player who never counts herself out, was able to make a run.

The Burlington, Ont., native erased the two breaks and forced Sabalenka to serve to stay in the second set at 5-6. Mboko was two points away from forcing a decider on two occasions. But she couldn't quite get there as Sabalenka's serve, which had been firing the