A fairy tale in Paris: French wild card Boisson stuns No. 6 Andreeva to reach French Open semis
A fairy tale in Paris: French wild card Boisson stuns No. 6 Andreeva to reach French Open semis
PARIS (AP) — The dream run continues for the 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson at Roland-Garros.
After taking down third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the previous round, the French wild-card entry upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Wednesday in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
A year ago, Boisson tore her left ACL just a week before her home Grand Slam tournament started, preventing her from accepting an invitation to play. On Thursday, she will have the chance to advance to the final when she takes on No. 2 seed Coco Gauff.
“It’s incredible, no matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through,” Boisson said during her post-match interview.
The 22-year-old player was largely unknown outside tennis circles before capturing the spotlight in Paris. She is appearing in her first Grand Slam main draw and became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut major tournament since 1989, when Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati both did it at the French Open.
She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amélie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999. The last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros was Mary Pierce, 25 years ago.
“I don’t think it’s a miracle,” Boisson said. “It’s just the result of hard work. Nothing else.”
Warming up with Sinner
Boisson’s performance even impressed the top-ranked male player, Jannik Sinner.
“I think that’s exactly what France needs, something very new, very special, great mentality,” Sinner said after moving into the semifinals. “The level she produces is amazing. Very consistent. Very clay court style.”
Sinner said he warmed up with Boisson on Wednesday.
“We hit some balls. It was a very consistent warmup for a different game style for a woman, because the ball is quite high and quite spinny,” he said. “Physically very strong. She deserves to be in the position where she is right now, and we wish her all the best for the future.”
Under the closed roof of court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd as fans chanted “Loïs, Loïs” between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager’s errors.
The first set was marked by momentum swings and brilliant shot-making from both players. Boisson twice found herself down a break but fought back each time, using heavy spin and deep groundstrokes to trouble her 18-year-old opponent.
Boisson aiming for the title
Andreeva grew visibly tense on key points, struggling to maintain her composure and wasting a chance to close out the first set when up 5-3. Despite saving three set points and forcing a tiebreaker, she ultimately handed the set to Boisson with two consecutive backhand errors.
Andreeva responded strongly at the start of the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead. But Boisson broke back with a thunderous backhand winner down the line, drawing a roar of approval from the lively crowd.
Andreeva received a warning after netting a routine forehand volley and angrily hitting a ball into the stands. She then argued with the umpire over a call that gave Boisson three break points. Andreeva saved the first one with a forehand winner then double-faulted, and never recovered.
“The first set was super intense, and I was really struggling at the start of the second, but I managed to regroup and finish like that,” said Boisson, who will make a big jump in the rankings.
Having reached a career high of No. 152 last year before her knee injury, Boisson will climb at least to No. 68 on Monday. And that could be even higher if she manages to pull off a third straight shocker — against Gauff in the semifinals.
“Every kid who plays tennis dreams to win a Slam,” Boisson said. “More for French players, to win Roland-Garros. For sure I will go for the dream, because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semifinals.”
An unseeded player has reached the French Open final twice in the last four years: eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in 2021, and Karolina Muchova in 2023.
Andreeva, a semifinalist in Paris last year, said she struggled to deal with the pressure of a hostile crowd, sometimes making the wrong tactical decisions.
“Today was one of those days when it’s just a bit harder to deal with everything that’s going on in the court,” she said.
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By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
AP Sports Writer
