In a remarkable display at Roland Garros, French wildcard Lois Boisson stunned the tennis world by defeating American world No.3 Jessica Pegula with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Ranked a staggering No.361 globally, Boisson is making her debut at a grand slam, having only stepped onto the WTA Tour in April. The odds were firmly stacked against her in this match.
Yet, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, the 22-year-old delivered the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, becoming the first French wildcard to reach the women’s quarter-finals since Mary Pierce in 2002. The last instance of a Frenchwoman making it to this stage at Roland Garros was in 2017, when both Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic achieved that feat.
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As Boisson prepares to face Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, she will be the lowest-ranked female quarter-finalist at a grand slam since Kaia Kanepi at the 2017 US Open.
The 22-year-old delivered a career-defining performance. Getty
Pegula started strong, breaking Boisson’s serve at 3-3, and it seemed that an easy victory was on the cards for last year’s US Open runner-up as she comfortably claimed the first set.
However, Boisson had different plans, achieving a vital break at 4-4 in the second set before levelling the match with a swift service game, winning it to love.
The tension escalated in the decider as both players exchanged breaks early on, and the crowd became increasingly enthralled. The match reached a thrilling climax when Boisson converted her fourth break-point opportunity at 4-4, saving four break points in the subsequent game while serving for the match.
Boisson had the support of the home fans. Getty
She crowned her victory with a forehand down the line in a match that lasted two hours and 40 minutes, extending her arms towards the stands in celebration as she embraced the moment.
Incredibly, Boisson underwent ACL and meniscus surgery around this time last year, sidelining her from competition for nine months. Now, she has notched four main draw wins at Roland Garros and is set to climb to approximately No.120 in the WTA rankings following this tournament.
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“The match unfolded exactly as she wanted it,” Pegula remarked. “She possesses a powerful forehand, moves exceptionally well, and demonstrates great skill from the mid-court. I should have adopted a more aggressive approach at times, but I felt it was necessary to make her play and that doubts would emerge for her in critical moments.
“Responding to her forehand and changing directions was a challenge.”
As the atmosphere on Court Philippe-Chatrier reached a fever pitch, Paris Saint-Germain player Ousmane Dembélé made a timely entrance to showcase the Champions League trophy his team recently won against Inter Milan.
Pegula had a solid start but ultimately faltered. Getty
The home crowd could potentially have even more to celebrate if Boisson pulls off another major upset against Andreeva, her second consecutive match against a top-10 opponent.
Meanwhile, on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, 18-year-old Andreeva, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, won against Australian No.17 Daria Kasatkina with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
In a light-hearted moment, Kasatkina tossed her wristband to Andreeva at the net, and Andreeva jokingly said she would keep it.
Unfortunately, there are no Australians remaining in the singles draws this year.
Another women’s quarter-final is set to feature No.2 Coco Gauff squaring off against No.7 Madison Keys, both of whom have a grand slam title to their name. Gauff, the US Open champion of 2023, defeated No.20 Ekaterina Alexandrova with a scoreline of 6-0, 7-5, while Keys, the champion of the Australian Open this January, triumphed against fellow American Hailey Baptiste with a score of 6-3, 7-5.
In men’s matches, Novak Djokovic secured his 100th career win at Roland Garros and will play No.3 Alexander Zverev, last year’s finalist, in the quarter-finals.
Surprisingly, No.62 Alexander Bublik took down No.5 Jack Draper with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, and will next face No.1 Jannik Sinner, who defeated No.17 Andrey Rublev with a decisive 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline on Monday night. Sinner has been in remarkable form, boasting 18 consecutive grand slam wins.
Djokovic dominated Cam Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, while Zverev was on his way to victory with a score of 6-4, 3-0 when Tallon Griekspoor retired due to an abdominal strain.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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