Wild-card Lois Boisson stuns No. 6 Mirra Andreeva to reach French Open semis
The run continues for the 361st-ranked Lois Boisson at Roland-Garros.
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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 Wednesday in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
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A year ago, Boisson tore the ACL in her left knee 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.
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'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.
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The 22-year-old Boisson was largely unknown outside tennis circles before capturing the spotlight in Paris. She is playing 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.
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She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999. The last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros was Mary Pierce, 25 years ago.
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Under the closed roof of court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd, as excited fans chanted 'Lois, Lois' between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager's errors.
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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 Russian opponent.
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Andreeva grew visibly tense on key points, struggling to maintain her composure and wasting a chance to close out the 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.
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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.
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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.
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'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.
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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 the No. 2-seeded Coco Gauff in the semifinals.
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