Paris: 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 US Open champion Gauff? A match-up against French wildcard 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.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner’s overpowering run through moved into the semifinals with a 6-1 7-5 6-0 victory over No. 62 Alexander Bublik. Sinner is the first Italian to reach six Slam semifinals.