French star Boisson has Wimbledon hopes ended
Breakout Roland Garros star Lois Boisson saw her hopes of a maiden Wimbledon main-draw appearance ended in the first round of qualifying.The 22-year-old rose to 65 in the world following her fairytale run to the French Open semi-finals as a 361st-ranked wildcard at the French Open.However, the cut off to enter the main draw is about six weeks before the tournament - when Boisson was still ranked outside the top 400.That meant she had to go through qualifying, where on Tuesday she suffered a 6-2 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 defeat by Canada's world number 197 Carson Branstine.Branstine will face compatriot and long-time friend Bianca Andreescu for a place in the third and final round of qualifying.Former US Open champion Andreescu, currently ranked 147th following a series of injuries and illnesses, comfortably beat Brazil's Laura Pigossi 6-2 6-1.The pair won the Australian Open girls doubles title together in 2017 and will face each other in a senior singles match for the first time.Branstine said: "I love that girl. Bianca has one of the best hearts on tour, and I'm so blessed to call her one of my best friends."
Britons Emily Appleton and Amarni Banks both progressed to the second qualifying round in the women's draw.Appleton, 25, completed a comeback victory over Swiss player Simona Waltert, winning 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with Czech player Barbora Palicova.The 22-year-old Banks also went the distance in a 6-4 1-6 6-3 victory over Austria's Julia Grabher.But Katie Swan, Yuriko Miyazaki, Ella McDonald, Ranah Akua Stoiber, Amelia Rajecki and Katy Dunne all lost their respective matches.Swan lost 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) to Spain's Leyre Romero Gormaz, while Miyazaki forced a third set but eventually fell 6-4 4-6 6-2 to Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.McDonald lost 4-6 7-5 6-1 to Latvia's Darja Semenistaja, Stoiber was beaten by Poland's Katarzyna Kawa 5-7 6-4 6-1 and Rajecki exited in a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2) defeat by Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich.Dunne, meanwhile, lost out 6-4 6-3 to experienced French player Alize Cornet, who came out of retirement earlier this year.Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year, begins on 30 June.
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