French wild-card entry Lois Boisson advanced to the semifinals of the French Open with a 7-6 (6), 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday in Paris.
Boisson, 22, fed off the support of the crowd and dispatched the 18-year-old Russian to become the first French semifinalist at her home Grand Slam event since Marion Bartoli in 2011. She also became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut Grand Slam tournament since Jennifer Capriati at the 1990 French Open.
“It’s incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this. I have no words,” Boisson said as she addressed the home crowd after the match. “I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on, but I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job.”
Boisson didn’t play in Paris last summer because of a torn left ACL. Now, she is one win away from playing in the French Open final.
“It’s incredible, no matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through,” Boisson said.
Boisson, who is No. 361 in the WTA rankings, will face a tall task in the semifinals against second-seeded Coco Gauff. The latter overcame sluggish play and rallied to a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 victory over fellow American Madison Keys.
Although Gauff has yet to face Boisson in her career, she said she’s ready to overcome her opponent’s home advantage on the clay courts of Roland Garros. That same crowd frustrated Andreeva on Wednesday.
“I have played Jasmine (Paolini) in Rome,” Gauff said. “I’ve played Jasmine and Sara (Errani) in Rome. I’ve played Caroline (Garcia) and Kristina (Mladenovic) here. So I have some experience playing against a crowd that maybe is not rooting for you. It’s something I’m looking forward to if it were to happen.
“I think there are two ways I have (coped with) it in the past. 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. I hope everyone will be respectful and things. If not, it’s cool.
“I think it makes sports exciting, and I can’t get irritated at the fact that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same.”
On Wednesday, Boisson overcame 3-1 and 5-3 deficits to upend Andreeva in the first set. The former then rebounded from an early 3-0 deficit in the second to win the match in two hours, eight minutes.
As for the 21-year-old Gauff, she overcame 10 double faults and won eight of the match’s final nine games to win her match in two hours, 11 minutes.
Neither Gauff nor Keys played a clean match. Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, hit 25 winners compared to 60 unforced errors. Gauff had 15 and 41, respectively.
“I have a lot more work left to do, but I’m going to savor this one today,” said Gauff, who reached the French Open semifinal for the second straight year and the third time overall.
Keys saw her 11-match Grand Slam winning streak come to a halt.
“With her ability to cover the court,” Keys, 30, said, “you’re going to have to win the point multiple times before it’s actually over.”
–Field Level Media
