World number 361, Lois Boisson, has given the spectators at the French Open cause to hope for a native to win this year’s crown in the women’s event, after the Frenchwoman upset the sixth seeded Russian, Mirra Andreeva, in straight sets on Wednesday.
22-year-old Boisson, making her grand slam debut, put on a gutsy display against her teenage opponent, saving two set points while 5-3 down to force a tie-breaker before completing the comeback by taking the opening set.
Andreeva brushed off her first set collapse to take a 3-0 lead in the second set as the Russian tried to get back in the contest, but Boisson once again rallied, pouncing on an increasingly frustrated Andreeva to take a 4-3 lead. The wildcard would go on to win the following six games to wrap up a memorable 7-6, 6-3 win.
Excluding unranked players, Boisson is the first player ranked outside the top-300 of the WTA Rankings to defeat multiple top-10 in a single event since Serena Williams in Chicago 1997 (vs Mary Pierce and Monica Seles).
Next up for Boisson in her giant-killing run is a semi-final showdown against Coco Gauff of the United States after the second seed came from a set down to send her compatriot, Madison Keys, home with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 win earlier on Wednesday.
Keys was 4-1 up in the first set when Gauff rallied to take a 5-4 lead, only to fumble the set point and eventually lose the ensuing tie-break against the Australian Open champion, before powering through the deciding sets to seal victory in two hours and 11 minutes.