In her darkest days, Lois Boisson could not even begin to imagine the scene that was unfolding under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier. A little over a year ago, the Frenchwoman was preparing to make her grand slam debut at Roland Garros after receiving a wildcard to the main draw. Then, disaster struck: Boisson ruptured her ACL, the French Open passed by and her long road to recovery began.
A year on, the 22-year-old is through to the French Open semi-finals, her grand slam debut that was once delayed now evolving into a Cinderella story for the ages in Paris. Boisson began the tournament as the World No 361, her ranking plummeting after nine months out. She has already risen 300 places by winning five matches at Roland Garros, the latest a thrilling 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 victory over the sixth seed Mirra Andreeva.
Boisson fell to her back and covered her face with her hands after Andreeva’s backhand drifted out on match point. When she arose from the clay, she also entered a new world: this is a story that has knocked Paris Saint-Germain off the front pages in France. If Boisson’s stunning win over third seed Jessica Pegula or this triumph over Andreeva had not generated enough excitement, a semi-final with Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday.
“It was unbelievable, there are no words to describe that feeling,” Boisson said. “After the difficult moments we went through last year, it’s unbelievable to come through, but it’s also thanks to my team who supported me. I ran a bit too much because I was so tense! It was difficult to hit the ball, I fought hard, the first set was very intense and at the beginning of the second I was really tired, but I managed to recover.”
There are always two sides to every match and while Boisson crumpled to the clay Andreeva was already packing up her rackets before shaking hands and making a swift exit. The 18-year-old was bidding to reach a second consecutive French Open semi-final but struggled to play against the crowd and lost control of her game and her temperament and at one stage whacked a ball into the stands in frustration.
It had been a cold, drizzly start to the day in Paris. The roof over Chatrier was shut and Bossoin could not avoid the anticipation that was building before the quarter-finals. Boisson was the last French player standing in both men’s and women’s singles draws when she defeated compatriot Elsa Jacquemont in the third round. She stepped onto Court Philippe-Chatrier for the first time when she defeated Pegula in the last-16, upsetting the American 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes.
Although 18, Andreeva reached the semi-finals of the French Open and the Russian teenger proved her breakthrough was no fluke by winning the hard-court WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Indian Wells back-to-back earlier this season.
Andreeva had also not dropped a set on her run to the quarter-finals and she began by dictating the exchanges behind her excellent backhand, picking Boisson off with a series of passing winners. It looked comfortable for the teeanger as she broke to lead 3-1 and pushed for the double break in the fifth game.
Boisson, though, did not allow her younger opponent to pull away. She started to move around her backhand while avoiding Andreeva’s, hitting the forehand inside-in. She broke back to level at 3-3, then mounted another comeback after saving set point as Andreeva served at 5-4.
It rallied the crowd, with chants of “allez Lois!” ringing from up high in the stands. Andreeva beame flustered with the noise of the crowd between her serves, as she started to misfire on her forehand. When the errors mounted and Andreeva also struggled to make serves, she turned to vent at her box and coach Conchita Martinez.
Boisson had three set points at 6-5 but Andreeva held a 14-minute game to force the tiebreak. There, Andreeva had another set point on 6-5 but Boisson stood form and won the next two points to clinch an epic 81-minute opening set.
Boisson’s energy dropped at the start of the second and Andreeva marched into a 3-0 lead. But she was not able to settle and soon become rattled again when Boisson levelled at 3-3. After facing 0-30 on serve, Andreeva lost her temper when a forehand was called just long and she whacked a ball into the stands. On the next point, Andreeva put a simple volley into the net.
Many home players have crumbled under the pressure of closing out a victory in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros but the 22-year-old did not blink as she held her serve to stand a game away. It helped that Andreeva continued to unravel: her 43rd unforced error and ninth double fault brought up match point as the French fairytale continued.
