Boisson beats Andreeva to continue Paris fairytale

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World number 361 Lois Boisson continued her fairytale run at the French Open with a straight-set quarter-final victory over sixth seed Mirra Andreeva.

Boisson, who entered the draw as a wildcard, has now beaten three seeds en route to the semi-finals following her 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 triumph on a packed Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Frenchwoman was set to be a wildcard at Roland Garros last year but had to withdraw after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee just a week before the clay-court Grand Slam was due to begin.

But 12 months on, she becomes the first player in the Open era to reach the women's singles semi-finals at the French Open as a wildcard, and the first French semi-finalist since Marion Bartoli in 2011.

World number two Coco Gauff awaits Boisson in the last four after the American came from a set down to beat compatriot Madison Keys 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1 earlier on Wednesday.

Following her knee injury, Boisson returned to the WTA Tour in April and has proven to be the surprise package of her home major after dazzling the home fans over the past two weeks with her victories over world number 31 Elise Mertens, third-ranked Jessica Pegula and now Russian Andreeva.

In a testing first set, early breaks were traded before 18-year-old Andreeva took the upper hand again.

But Boisson - who has the word 'resilience' tattooed on her arm - earned a crucial break back when 5-4 down.

She had three shots at set points but Andreeva held on to force the tie-break, which was subsequently won by Boisson.

After a difficult start to the second set, where Boisson was broken in her first service game and trailed 3-0, the home hope began her fight back with help from a partisan crowd chanting her name.

An aggressive forehand down the line earned a break back for 3-2 and shifted momentum firmly in her favour.

The cauldron of Court Philippe Chatrier under the roof proved too much for Andreeva to handle and her frustration spilled out on several occasions, slamming her fist into her knee and hitting a ball into the crowd.

A second break handed Boisson control of the set before she staved off two break points to win her fifth game in succession.

Cameras were at the ready when Boisson had three match points and she collapsed to the floor in delight after watching Andreeva's forehand land the wrong side of the paint.

Aged 22 years and nine days, she is the youngest French semi-finalist in a women's singles Grand Slam event since Amelie Mauresmo reached the same stage at Wimbledon in 1999.

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