mboko (3)

Victoria Mboko is off to a winning start in the American swing of the tennis schedule.

The Canadian downed Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Friday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday in Indian Wells, Calif.

Mboko, seeded 10th, got a first-round bye before knocking off the world No. 69.

Mboko had seven aces to five double faults and broke on five of her seven chances.

The 10th-seeded Mboko also won 69 per cent of first-serve points.

Birrell had two aces to four double faults and converted four of her seven break-point opportunities.

She won just 54 per cent of first-serve points.

The 19-year-old Mboko has already reached finals in Adelaide and Qatar this year, along with a run to the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Mboko will next face the winner of a match between No. 23 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia and Zeynep Sönmez of Turkiye.

On the men’s side, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime were scheduled to play second-round matches later Friday.

Canada’s Gabriel Diallo and Leylah Fernandez will play second-round matches on Saturday.

— with files from the Canadian Press