French wild card Lois Boisson produced a stunning upset at Roland Garros on Monday, ousting American world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in a thrilling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Boisson, ranked No. 361 in the world, is making her grand slam debut at the French Open having only made her WTA Tour-level debut in April. To say she was given long odds of beating Pegula would have been an understatement.
But in front of a raucous home crowd, the 22-year-old produced the biggest shock of the tournament so far, becoming the first French wild card to reach the quarterfinals of the women’s draw since Mary Pierce in 2002. The last time a Frenchwoman reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros was 2017 – accomplished by both Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
When she faces Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday, Boisson will be the lowest-ranked female quarterfinalist at a grand slam since Kaia Kanepi at the 2017 US Open.
Pegula gained an early advantage in the match with a break of serve at 3-3, and as she comfortably saw out the remainder of the opening set, it looked like it would be a routine victory for last year’s US Open runner-up.
Boisson, however, had other ideas, securing the crucial break at 4-4 in the second set before leveling the match by serving out her next game to love.
The pair traded breaks near the start of the decider, the enthralling encounter becoming even more tense – the crowd even more involved – as the set wore on. The contest got the edge-of-your-seat finale it deserved when Boisson converted her fourth break-point opportunity at 4-4, then saved four break points while serving for the match the following game.
She eventually ripped a forehand down the line to complete the victory in two hours and 40 minutes, stretching out her arms and looking to the stands as she soaked up the applause.
Remarkably, Boisson had ACL and meniscus surgery around this time last year, keeping her away from the tour for nine months. She has now recorded four main draw wins at Roland Garros and is projected to rise to at least around No. 120 in the WTA rankings after the tournament.
With the atmosphere on Court Philippe-Chatrier already at fever pitch, it felt timely that Paris Saint-Germain player Ousmane Dembélé should arrive at the arena to parade the Champions League trophy his side won against Inter Milan on Saturday.
On Tuesday, the home crowd might have even more to cheer should Boisson produce another huge upset against Andreeva – her second top-10 opponent in as many matches.
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, Americans Madison Keys and Coco Gauff are set to face each other in the final eight after both recorded straight-set victories.
Australian Open champion Keys defeated compatriot Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5, while second seed Gauff saw off the challenge of Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0, 7-5.
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