France’s 361st-ranked Lois Boisson shocks Jessica Pegula to reach French Open quarters

PARIS – The French Open crowd showed both sides of its character as local favourite Lois Boisson moved into the quarter-finals with a stunning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over world No. 3 Jessica Pegula on June 2.

The world No. 361 fought tooth and nail on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where the fans showed up late – a common occurrence at the tournament where nothing can interrupt the sanctity of lunch – to watch the 22-year-old become the first French player to reach the Roland Garros last eight since 2017.

The sight of empty seats was all the more jarring considering the unlikelihood of a Frenchwoman making it to the second week at Roland Garros, with only one of them featuring in the top 100 in the WTA rankings.

Fewer than 5,000 people filled the stands in the 15,000-capacity arena when wildcard Boisson played the first point without the vocal support she needed at her home Grand Slam.

She played the final set, however, to the sound of “Lois, Lois!” sung by a raucous audience and her victory was greeted by a spontaneous rendition of La Marseillaise.

Boisson, who suffered a serious knee injury before the 2024 French Open, was gracious after winning a 2hr 40min battle.

“I don’t know what to say, but thank you. Playing on this court in such a great atmosphere, it was incredible,” Boisson, who will add at least US$500,000 (S$643,000) to her career total of US$21,000 in prize money, said on court.

“I knew I could do it but I knew she was super strong but after a while I realised it was a proper contest.”

As her courtside interviewer promised she would release her to her friends and family, Boisson joked: “I feel very well on this court, I can stay here for a long time.”

Featuring in the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time, the 22-year-old, who will next face Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, snatched an early break but Pegula mixed it up with drop shots and bagged the opening set.

Boisson’s massive forehand, however, proved tough for American Pegula to handle and the momentum shifted as the Frenchwoman forced a decider.

She broke decisively for 5-4 and although nerves crept in, a stone-faced Boisson served out to become the first Frenchwoman with a wild card to make it to the last eight at Roland Garros since Mary Pierce in 2002.

Boisson is also the lowest-ranked woman to enter a Grand Slam quarter-final since former top-20 player Kaia Kanepi reached the 2017 US Open last eight ranked 418th.

She is also the first woman to make the quarter-finals of her first Grand Slam main draw since Carla Suarez Navarro made the last eight in Paris in 2008 as a qualifier.

Earlier, Coco Gauff reached a fifth straight French Open quarter-final and was joined in the last eight by Russian teenager Andreeva.

The world No. 2 brushed Russian 20th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova aside 6-0, 7-5 to step up her pursuit of a first Roland Garros crown, and second Grand Slam title.

“It was tough. The whole match I think I played well to be honest,” said Gauff, a losing finalist in Paris in 2022.

Former US Open champion Gauff will play reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in an all-American quarter-final. Keys beat Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5.

Sixth seed Andreeva also moved through in straight sets as she cut short an attempted fightback by hitting partner and ex-compatriot Daria Kasatkina to advance 6-3, 7-5.

Kasatkina, ranked 17th, is now playing for Australia after switching allegiance from her native Russia.

“It was a hell of a match,” said Andreeva.

“Honestly I’m so so happy I won, I hate playing against her, we practise a lot and even practice is a torture for me.”

She is through to her second Major quarter-final, having reached the last four at Roland Garros 12 months ago, when she knocked out Aryna Sabalenka.

The 18-year-old Andreeva is the youngest woman to reach back-to-back Roland Garros quarter-finals since Martina Hingis in 1997 and 1998.

In the men’s draw, Alexander Zverev secured a place in his seventh French Open quarter-final as his last-16 opponent Tallon Griekspoor retired injured in the second set.

The German, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final, was leading 6-4, 3-0 when the Dutchman conceded after just 51 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

“Unfortunately this morning in the warmup... I pulled my abdominal (muscle) which made me not serve fully and not able to compete the way I would like,” said Griekspoor, who was playing in the fourth round of a Major for the first time.

Third seed Zverev will next face former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who downed Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, as he continues his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam title. REUTERS, AFP