By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) -The French Open crowd showed both sides of its character as local favourite Lois Boisson moved into the quarter-finals with a stunning 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory over world number three Jessica Pegula on Monday.
World number 361 Boisson fought tooth and nail on court Philippe Chatrier, where the fans showed up late – a common occurrence at the tournament where nothing can interrupt the sanctity of lunch – to watch the 22-year-old become the first French player to reach the Roland Garros last eight since 2017.
The sight of empty seats was all the more jarring considering the unlikelihood of a Frenchwoman making it to the second week at Roland Garros with only one of them featuring in the top 100 in the WTA rankings.
Fewer than 5,000 people filled the stands in the 15,000 capacity arena when wildcard Boisson played the first point without the vocal support she needed at her home major.
She played the final set, however, to the sound of “Lois, Lois!” sung by a raucous audience and her victory was greeted by a spontaneous rendition of La Marseillaise.
Boisson, who suffered a serious knee injury before the French Open last year, was gracious after winning a two-hour and 40-minute battle.
“I don’t know what to say, but thank you. Playing on this court in such a great atmosphere, it was incredible,” Boisson, who will add at least $500,000 to her career total of $21,000 in prize money, said on court.
“I knew I could do it but I knew she was super strong but after a while I realised it was a proper contest.”
As her courtside interviewer promised she would release her to her friends and family, Boisson joked: “I feel very well on this court, I can stay here for a long time.”
Featuring in the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time, the 22-year-old, who will next face Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, Boisson snatched an early break but Pegula mixed it up with drop shots and bagged the opening set.
Boisson’s massive forehand, however, proved tough for American Pegula to handle and the momentum shifted as the Frenchwoman forced a decider.
She broke decisively for 5-4 and although nerves crept in, a stone-faced Boisson served out to become the first French woman with a wildcard to make it to the last eight at Roland Garros since Mary Pierce 2002.
Boisson also is the lowest-ranked woman to make a Grand Slam quarter-final since former top 20 player Kaia Kanepi reached the 2017 U.S. Open last eight ranked 418th.
She is also the first woman to make the quarter-finals of her first Grand Slam main draw since Carla Suarez Navarro made the last eight in Paris in 2008 as a qualifier.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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