For the first time since 2019, Karolina Muchova is a champion on the WTA Tour.

The 29-year-old Czech Republic native earned a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Canada’s Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open final on Saturday in Doha.

Muchova, the tournament’s No. 14 seed, converted three of eight break points to claim her first win in a WTA 1000 event and her second overall — joining the 2019 Korea Open title on her resume.

“It’s been a while since I won a tournament,” Muchova said while receiving her trophy after the match. “So it’s nice to get that feeling again, to be reminded of that victory feeling again.”

Muchova needed 94 minutes to complete the victory as she won 79% of her first serves compared to Mboko’s 57%. Muchova was particularly on point in the first set, when she earned points on 18 of her 21 first serves while allowing Mboko no chances to break her.

Muchova improved her WTA ranking from 19th to 11th with the win.

The 19-year-old Mboko entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed and 13th in the world rankings. She was playing in her first tourney since reaching the Australian Open’s round of 16, where she lost to top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

Mboko secured enough points to climb to 10th in the WTA rankings. She knocked off No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia on her way to the finals.

“It’s not the outcome I wanted,” said Mboko, who was competing in her fourth WTA final and second at the 1000 level. “But I think there’s many positives to take away.”

Muchova, who has battled through injuries in recent years, including a February 2024 wrist surgery that caused her to miss ten months, praised her opponent.

“I’d like to congratulate Victoria,” Muchova said on the court after the match. “You’re still a teenager but you play with so much maturity. I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you.”

Mboko was the only seeded player Muchova faced during the tournament as top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland fell in Thursday’s quarterfinals to Greece’s unseeded Maria Sakkari. No. 3 seed Amanda Anisimova retired in the third set of Round 2 on Monday while No. 4 seed Coco Gauff lost in straight sets to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Round 2 on Tuesday.

–Field Level Media

Cameron Boozer (18 points, eight rebounds) and Isaiah Evans (17 points) led No. 4 Duke to a 67-54 victory against No. 20 Clemson in a key Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.

Cayden Boozer added 12 points for the Blue Devils, who pulled away early in the second half courtesy of a strong defensive performance. Duke (23-2, 12-1 ACC) has won back-to-back games since a last-second loss at rival North Carolina last weekend.

Carter Welling (12 points) and RJ Godfrey (10 points) paced Clemson (20-6, 10-3), which began the week with a chance to move atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Tigers lost two in a row after suffering an upset at home Wednesday vs. Virginia Tech.

Clemson shot 35.1% from the field, including 6-for-24 on 3-pointers.

Cooper Flagg, a star freshman from last season’s Duke team and now a rookie with the Dallas Mavericks, was among those in attendance at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils made 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc for their first double-figure total in that category since Jan. 10 vs. SMU.

Duke scored the first eight points — with five from Evans — of the second half for a 38-26 lead. The margin grew to 52-33, with Clemson shooting 3-for-16 in the first nine minutes of the second half.

Duke made five 3-point shots in the game’s first 15 minutes, while Clemson was 0-for-4 at that juncture. But the Blue Devils were aiming for perimeter production, taking 17 of their first 23 shots from beyond the arc.

Duke stretched its lead to 28-20 on Evans’s 3-pointer, with Clemson calling time-out. The Tigers were within 31-26 by halftime despite 1-for-9 shooting on 3s.

Duke center Patrick Ngongba II, whose status had been in doubt because of a wrist injury, started but played only four first-half minutes after picking up two fouls. He finished with six points in 19 minutes.

–Field Level Media

Sophomore guard Cole Certa set career highs with 37 points and seven 3-pointers on Saturday to help Notre Dame breeze past Georgia Tech for an 89-74 Atlantic Coast Conference victory in South Bend, Ind.

Braeden Shrewsberry added 20 points while Logan Imes had 14 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (12-14, 3-10 ACC), which snapped a five-game losing streak. Carson Towt finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who played without star freshman Jalen Haralson (15.5 points per game) due to a sprained ankle.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. scored 16 points to lead Georgia Tech (11-15, 2-11), which dropped its seventh straight game. Baye Ndongo posted 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Jaeden Mustaf chipped in 14 points and Akai Fleming scored 13.

After building a 12-point halftime lead, Notre Dame pushed the margin to 18 with 15:53 to play as Towt’s layup stamped an 8-0 run. The Fighting Irish took their first 20-point lead on Certa’s layup with 13:06 left.

Georgia Tech got its deficit down to 15 on a Mustaf free throw, but Imes’ 3-pointer began a 9-0 spurt to push the lead to 68-44. Fleming’s 3-pointer stopped the bleeding and ended a 4:57 scoreless drought for the Yellow Jackets.

After Fleming made a pair of foul shots to narrow the deficit to 20, Certa’s 3-pointer and subsequent layup gave the Fighting Irish a 78-53 advantage. Georgia Tech finished the game on a 21-11 run in the lopsided affair.

Reeves scored the game’s first basket to give Georgia Tech its only lead. Shrewsberry hit a 3-pointer to hand Notre Dame a 16-10 lead before six straight Yellow Jackets points knotted the score with 11 minutes left in the first half.

Certa drilled consecutive triples to give the Fighting Irish a 29-20 edge with 7:13 remaining. Notre Dame grabbed a 12-point lead on Towt’s layup.

Certa’s hot shooting continued when he drilled his fifth 3-pointer of the half to give Notre Dame a 45-33 halftime lead. Certa scored 21 first-half points while Shrewsberry had 14 for the Fighting Irish, who connected on 11 of 19 3-point tries before halftime. Reeves’ 14 first-half points paced Georgia Tech.

–Field Level Media