The match lasted one minute under two-and-a-half hours and was followed by an equally gripping contest as Mboko underlined her growing reputation in a contest that was just six minutes shorter.

Mboko, who had already defeated Rybakina in last year’s Montreal semifinals, managed to break the Kazakh’s serve three times in the opening set alone.

On the flip side she lost her own twice but that was still enough for her to take the first set 7–5. She dropped her serve twice again in the second set, which Rybakina won 6–4.

But the 19-year-old Canadian had the last word in the final set, winning it 6–4.

Mboko, who was swept aside by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16 in Melbourne, will face last year’s runner-up, Jelena Ostapenko in the Doha semifinals.

The Latvian, who won the French Open in 2017, advanced by beating the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7–5, 6–4.