At the prospect of facing a player 355 notches above her in the world rankings for a place in the semi-finals of the French Open, Lois Boisson declared herself prepared for combat with Mirra Andreeva
"She has a very good backhand and she's very solid on both sides," Boisson said of the sixth seed. "So I believe I will have to expect a lot of difficult rallies," added the 22-year-old.
"But it will not change my game plan. I might adapt a few details, but I'm not going to change."
With good reason, the fierce forehands reminiscent of her idol Rafael Nadal and low bouncing slices bedazzled the world number three Jessica Pegula during an enthralling tussle on centre court on Monday.
The 31-year-old American took the first set 6-3 but Boisson, playing for the first time on centre court, levelled the fourth round tie and then stayed with the American throughout the final set.
Boisson clinched the decider 6-4 after a match lasting two hours and 40 minutes to become the first Frenchwoman to reach the last eight on the clay courts at the French Open since Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in 2017.
"I tried to stay rather cool and focused on what I had to do to relieve the pressure, because I did feel the pressure," she said.
"And I tried every time to think about what I had to do for the next point. If I missed a point, I tried to think why I had missed it and how I could improve for the next one.
Process
"So I did what I had to do, and sometimes when my ball didn't go through, well, I understood what I had to do, and I did it."
Boisson will have to infuse her wiry frame with similar sang froid and problem-solving nous on Wednesday afternoon.
The stands in the centre court were sparsely populated when she and Pegula began their battle. By the end, the roars of the partisans could be heard throughout the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.
The seats are likely to be filled from the outset of the quarter-final and the locals will need to be vocal.
Though only 18, Andreeva boasts the experience. The 2024 French Open semi-finalist is participating for the ninth time at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.
Wins
Earlier in the season, the Russian arrived at Indian Wells in the United States with the crown from the Dubai Open – one of the most coveted on the circuit.
In the Californian desert, she outwitted the world number two and number one – Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka respectively – to add that title to her burgeoning trophy cabinet.
While Andreeva was cutting a swathe through the draws in the elite competitions on the senior tour, Boisson was toiling away in third tier tournaments as she sought fitness and form after a cruciate ligament injury in her left knee that deprived her of a chance to feature at last year's French Open.
At Sabadell and Terrassa in Spain in March, she reached the quarter-final and final respectively. There was also a semi-final appearance at Bellinzona in Switzerland in April.
Boisson's return to the main tour at the Rouen Open came with a bizarre twist. During her first round match against Harriet Dart, court-side microphones picked up the Briton asking the umpire to tell Boisson to wear deodorant.
Unaware of the comments, Boisson dispatched the 28-year-old 6-0, 6-3 before she was eliminated in the second round.
A first round loss at the Saint Malo Open in April to compatriot Léolia Jeanjean was followed by a title at the lower division Saint-Gaudens Open in southern France.
Rewards
That victory brought her a purse of a couple of thousand euros and a few ranking points to take her to 361 in the world.
The wins which have propelled her to the last eight at one of the four most prestigious tournaments in the sport will catapult her into the top 120 and boost her bank account with 440,000 euros.
And the successes in her first Grand Slam tournament have not only produced a redemption story par excellence but also allowed French tennis federation (FFT) bosses a modicum of respite from the questions about the paucity of French female talent in the upper echelons of the sport.
Varvara Gracheva, ranked at 64 in the world, went into the 2025 French Open as the country's top female player and lost in the first round to the 2020 finalist Sofia Kenin.
Diane Parry, the French number two, was also eliminated in the first round along with Jeanjean and Garcia.
The FFT's decision to give Boisson an invitation to compete in the main draw has paid off handsomely for a player who says she feels at home in the dirt – as it is affectionately nicknamed.
"I started playing tennis when I was eight," Boisson said. "And when I was young, I played a lot on clay courts so that's why I think I love this surface and why my game is like it is."
The girl from Dijon will have to be at the top of that game on Wednesday against Andreeva if she wants to cut the mustard.
