France’s 361st-ranked Lois Boisson continued her “incredible” Paris adventure on Wednesday, dispatching World No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in a thrilling two-set battle to reach the French Open semi-finals.
Boisson triumphed 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 in just over two hours against Russian teenager Andreeva in front of an ecstatic home crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, collapsing on the red clay after sealing victory on her first match point.
Lois Boisson
“It was incredible to play in front of this crowd and to feel support like that. It was amazing, thank you,” said Boisson, playing in her first Grand Slam.
History created
Boisson becomes the first Frenchwoman to reach the semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011 and the lowest-ranked major semi-finalist in the last 40 years.
The 22-year-old wildcard advances to meet US World No. 2 Coco Gauff for a place in the final. She had already eliminated US third seed Jessica Pegula, and extended her run against last year’s semi-finalist Andreeva.
“My routine won’t change, it’s been the same since the start of the tournament,” she added of her preparation for Thursday’s semi-final.
Boisson had trailed 3-1 and 5-3 in the first set — eventually saving two set points — to edge a tight tiebreak 8-6. She kept her cool as Andreeva unravelled from a 3-0 lead in the second set to win the last six games. Andreeva’s frustrations spilled over with the 18-year-old jumping up and down in anger and receiving a warning from the umpire for blasting the ball into the crowd. She was then booed when she argued with the umpire over a line call, and was broken later that game after another double-fault to suddenly trail 4-3.
Gauff ready for clash
She next meets Gauff, who battled back from a set down to beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1. “Yeah, I think there are two ways I have done it in the past,” said 21-year-old Gauff, a former US Open winner, of playing the home favourite. “Either, A: just pretend they’re cheering for you, and B: just using it and not letting that get to you. “I have been in crowds where they are 99 percent for me, so I don’t have an issue with it. You know, I hope everyone will be respectful and things. If not, it’s cool.”
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
