French wild-card entry Loïs Boisson upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Wednesday in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd at Roland Garros to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
Boisson, 22, became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut Grand Slam tournament since Jennifer Capriati at the 1990 French Open.
Boisson is also the first women’s wild card to reach the French Open semifinals in the Open era (since 1968).
In the second set, Andreeva responded strongly and raced to a 3-0 lead.
An unseeded player has reached the French Open final twice in the past four years: eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in 2021 and Karolina Muchova in 2023.
In front of an raucous and largely partisan audience at Roland Garros on Wednesday, French wild-card entry Loïs Boisson defeated sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the French Open semifinals.
Exuberant supporters shouted during play, waved tricolor flags, chanted “Lois, Lois” in between points, and even cheered the Russian teenager’s mistakes, all of which caused Andreeva to express her frustration with the crowd on multiple occasions.
It is amazing. I appreciate your support in this way. “I am speechless,” Boisson said to the home crowd. “I was so tense early on that I ran a little too much, but I put up a good fight in that first set, which was really intense. I was a little depleted at the beginning of the second, but I persisted and completed the task. “,”.
Boisson was unable to accept an invitation to play a year ago because she tore the ACL in her left knee a week before the start of her home Grand Slam tournament. She will have the opportunity to go to the final on Thursday.
“Given what happened last year and all the tough times I had, it’s amazing, no matter what,” Boisson stated in her post-match interview.
At her first Grand Slam tournament, Boisson, 22, became the first female to advance past the semifinals since Jennifer Capriati at the French Open in 1990. Since 1968, Boisson has been the first female wild card to advance to the French Open semifinals.
Since 1999, when Amelie Mauresmo made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, she is the youngest French player to do so. Twenty-five years ago, Mary Pierce became the last Frenchwoman to win the Roland Garros title.
When Boisson said, “I don’t think it’s a miracle,”. “It’s simply the outcome of perseverance. Not a word. “..”.
Boisson will have to deal with No. After overcoming poor play and losing the opening set to defeat Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, the American sensation defeated 3 Coco Gauff in the semifinals.
In the first set, both players displayed incredible shotmaking and momentum swings. Twice, Boisson was given a break, but she fought back, challenging her Russian opponent with deep groundstrokes and heavy spin.
When up 5-3, Andreeva wasted a chance to end the set and struggled to keep her cool. She became noticeably tense at key points. She saved three set points and forced a tiebreaker, but she made two backhand errors in a row, giving Boisson the set.
Andreeva reacted forcefully in the second set, quickly taking a 3-0 advantage. The enthusiastic audience erupted in cheers when Boisson responded with a powerful backhand winner down the line.
Andreeva scored a routine forehand volley and slammed a ball into the stands with rage, earning her a warning. Boisson was given a break point after she and the umpire argued over a call. Andreeva double-failed on the following point and was never able to recover.
“They would typically back a French player, so I knew this is how it would be. Andreeva stated, “I think I handled it fairly well in the first set [and] I didn’t really pay attention to that.”. “Obviously, though, it got a little more difficult under pressure and with nerves. “..”.
Definitely not. Boisson, who is ranked 361 in the WTA rankings, is the third-lowest-ranked female player to advance to the major semifinals in the last three decades. Both Justin Henin (2010 Australian Open) and Kim Clijsters (2009 US Open) had unranked runs.
with a career-high score of “no.”. Boisson will at least reach No. 152, where she was before her knee injury last year. 68 on Monday. . And if she can shock Gauff for a third time in a row, that number might be even higher.
Barbora Krejcikova, the eventual champion, and Karolina Muchova, the 2023 champion, are the only unseeded players to have advanced to the French Open final in the last four years.
“I believe that every young tennis player aspires to win a Slam. Without a doubt, Boisson expressed his desire for a French player to win Roland Garros. It’s a dream, then. I will definitely pursue my dream because I want to win, not place in the semifinals. “..”.
Contributions to this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press.
