PARIS (AP) — That No. 2 seed Coco Gauff reached Thursday's French Open semifinals should surprise no one. Her 361st-ranked opponent for a berth in the title match? That's a whole other story.
Gauff made it to the final four at Roland-Garros for the third time, getting past No. 7 Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday in a quarterfinal between two Americans who both have won a major title.
Next up for 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff? A matchup against French wild-card entry Loïs Boisson, who extended one of the most stunning runs in tennis history by beating No. 6 Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3.
“Unbelievable,” Boisson said. “Incredible.”
Those are a couple of good words for what's been happening.
A year ago, Boisson was supposed to make her Grand Slam debut in Paris, but she tore a knee ligament and couldn't compete. Now 22, Boisson is the first woman to get to the semifinals of her first major tournament since Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati did it at the 1989 French Open and is the lowest-ranked to get that far at Roland-Garros in at least 40 years.
She's doing it with a game made for clay, anchored by heavy groundstrokes and buoyed by a rowdy, partisan crowd that rattled the 18-year-old Andreeva — she was warned for ball abuse for smacking one toward the upper deck after one bad volley — and was just as loud when Boisson upset No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.
“I love to play with the crowd. I love to hear my name when I won a point and everything,” Boisson said. “For me, it’s just something plus. It’s not pressure. But I think it’s also really difficult for (a) player from (another) country.”
Over and over again, the chair umpire tried to tell the 15,000 or so spectators to be quiet as their thunderous applause and shouts of Boisson's first name reverberated off the inside of the closed roof at Court Philippe-Chatrier. They didn't heed those requests. They jeered and whistled when Andreeva complained about noise between her first and second serves or argued line calls.
“It’s normal that they would support a French player, so I knew that it’s going to be like this. I think that in the first set, I managed it pretty well (and) I didn’t really pay attention to that,” Andreeva said. “But obviously with nerves and with pressure, it became a little harder.”
When the match ended, Boisson collapsed to her back, chest heaving and hands on her face. When she rose, there were flecks of rust-colored clay all over, including her forehead.
No matter what happens the rest of the way, Boisson certainly has left her mark on the 2025 French Open.
“I think every kid who plays tennis has the dream to win a Slam. More for a French player to win Roland Garros, for sure,” she said. “So, yeah, it’s a dream. For sure, I will go for the dream — because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semifinal.”
What else happened at the French Open on Wednesday?
Novak Djokovic and No. 1 Jannik Sinner set up a semifinal showdown with victories. Djokovic reached his record 51st Grand Slam semifinal as he pursues his 25th major championship with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 3 Alexander Zverev, last year's runner-up. And Sinner got back to the semifinals in Paris for the second year in a row with his latest overpowering performance, defeating unseeded Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 in under two hours. Sinner has dropped just 36 games through five matches.
Who plays at Roland-Garros on Thursday?
The two women's semifinals are the only singles matches on the Day 12 schedule, with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek facing No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in just their second matchup at a Grand Slam tournament, and Gauff meeting Boisson. The men's semifinals are Friday, including defending champion Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lorenzo Musetti.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
