Roland-Garros: World No 361 Boisson stuns Pegula to reach maiden quarter-final

Lois Boisson pulled off a stunning upset on Philippe-Chatrier, delighting the Parisian crowds as she took down third-seeded Jessica Pegula 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland-Garros.

The last remaining home hope at this year’s tournament, wildcard Boisson faced the steepest of challenges when she – currently ranked 361st in the world and playing on Philippe-Chatrier for the first time in her career – took on world No 3 Pegula in the fourth round.

But Boisson played superbly to earn by far the biggest win of her career, and one of the standout results at this year’s Roland-Garros thus far.

The Frenchwoman has become only the second woman to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros as a wildcard after Mary Pierce in 2002.

Boisson is now also the third-youngest French player to reach the Women’s Singles quarter-finals at Roland Garros in the Open Era, older only than Mary Pierce in 1994 and Brigitte Simon in 1978.

It was all the more more remarkable given that Boisson had lost the first set, only to fight back with extraordinary clarity of thought and tenacity to knock out one of the most consistent and experience players on the WTA Tour.

After a lengthy and tense final game, during which Boission fended off four break points, the Frenchwoman finally got over the line to reach the last eight on her maiden Grand Slam appearance.

Boisson, ranked No 361, will face Russian Mirra Andreeva, the No 6 seed, next.

Earlier in the tournament, the 22-year-old Frenchman won against Belgian Elise Mertens, the No 24 seed (6-4, 4-6, 6-3), Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina (6-1, 6-2) and wildcard Elsa Jacquemot (6-3, 0-6, 7-5).

Pegula, ranked No 3, defeated Romanian Anca Todoni (6-2, 6-4), Ann Li (6-3, 7-6 (3)) and Marketa Vondrousova (3-6, 6-4, 6-2) in the previous rounds.

Paris (Grand Slam), other last-16 results (Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 56.352.000, most recent results first):

• Madison Keys vs. Hailey Baptiste: monday
• Coco Gauff (2) beat Ekaterina Alexandrova (20): 6-0, 7-5
• Mirra Andreeva beat Daria Kasatkina (17): 6-3, 7-5
• Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Amanda Anisimova (16): 7-5, 6-3
• Iga Swiatek (5) beat Elena Rybakina (12): 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
• Qinwen Zheng (8) beat Liudmila Samsonova (19): 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3
• Elina Svitolina (13) beat Jasmine Paolini (4): 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1