How Lois Boisson Imploded Mirra Andreeva to Reach the Roland-Garros Semi-Finals

In the French sports world, one question remains, now that Paris Saint-Germain has finally clinched the Champions League victory : will Ousmane Dembélé manage to do the double and pocket the Ballon d'Or, the award for the best footballer of the season? The striker seems in pole position, but clearly does not have the favor of all Parisians. From the Philippe-Chatrier court, a voice was raised on Wednesday, June 4, at 4 p.m., to endorse another contender: "Loïs Ballon d'Or!" shouted a spectator as Loïs Boisson, his back covered in clay, had barely gotten up, his eyes reddened by the emotion of qualifying for the semi-finals of Roland-Garros.
Ranked 361st in the world, the Frenchwoman should not even have had access to the qualifications for these French Opens. But having been invited by the French Tennis Federation to the main draw, the Dijon native has, it seems, decided to stay in the west of Paris until the end of the fortnight. Not content with having already paid the world's third-ranked player, the American Jessica Pegula, on Monday , Loïs Boisson added to her list of conquests the Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva, 6th in the international ranking, defeated after a fight lasting more than two hours (7-6 [8-6], 6-3). Here she is the first Frenchwoman since Marion Bartoli, in 2011, to reach the last four of the women's tournament on Parisian clay.
You have 77% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
Le Monde