French tennis sensation Lois Boisson continues to impress, doesn’t she? The 22-year-old has made it to the semifinal of the tournament after defeating Mirra Andreeva in straight sets 7-6 (6), 6-3. While it was a straightforward victory for the French sensation, there was a controversial moment in the match that caught the eyes of the tennis world. A packed Court Philippe-Chatrier was quite vocal against Andreeva as they supported their local superstar.

During the second set, Andreeva hit the ball just long, and Boisson stopped the match after the initial decision wasn’t called out. Subsequently, the chair umpire intervened and got down to see the mark. “She put her finger up, she stopped the point, that’s why I went down,” the chair umpire said. However, Andreeva responded by saying, “Yeah but the ball touched the line.” The umpire disagreed and awarded the point to Boisson. Loud boos echoed in the stadium for Andreeva as the Russian teenager faced the wrath of 15,00 fans in the stadium.

Interestingly, after losing the first set, Andreeva led 3-0 in the second set and looked poised to make a comeback. However, with the French crowd behind her and the line call going in her favor, Boisson won the next six games to make it to the last four. It has been a dream-come-true for the French sensation, having made it to the semifinal in her home Grand Slam tournament. Subsequently, she thanked the crowd for their support.

Boisson said, “It’s incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this. I have no words. I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on, but I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job.”

Tennis legends praised Boisson’s performance. Sam Querrey said, “A year ago, she suffered a serious knee injury, and today, she’s one of the best movers on tour. She’s a mix between Sam Stosur and Maria Sakkari. She’s strong, with huge leg muscles. She’s an incredible athlete. She has a good serve, a really strong forehand.” Giles Simon added, “Loïs is pleasant to watch play. She stays true to her style. In my opinion, she’ll be able to adapt to other surfaces. When I watch her play, I don’t see her on fire. What she does is what she masters.” 

Up next, Boisson runs into the second seed, Coco Gauff. After setting up a clash with the local star, Gauff talked about how she’ll handle the fans, which would be against her during the last four clash.

Coco Gauff draws a 2-step plan to battle the French crowd

Over the course of her career, Gauff has faced many situations in which she has had the fans against her during the matches. A similar situation take place tomorrow when Gauff faces Boisson on Court Philippe-Chatrier. As in the match between Andreeva and Boisson, the crowd will be very vocal in support of the latter as Gauff revealed her plans to tackle them.

She said, “I have done it in the past. Either, A, just pretend they’re cheering for you, or B, just using it and not letting that get to you. I have been in crowds where they are 99% for me, so I don’t have an issue with it. You know, I hope everyone will be respectful and things. If not, it’s cool. I can’t get irritated at the fact that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same.”

Boisson and Gauff will face each other for the first time in their careers. While the American star would be the favorite in the match, Boisson would look to use the unpredictability factor and the crowd support to carry on her giant-killing run. It’ll be interesting to see who emerges victorious in this enthralling battle.