Lois Boisson became the first French woman to reach the quarter-finals at the French Open in eight years after coming from a set down to beat the third seed Jessica Pegula.
Playing for the first time on centre court, the world number 361 prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes to emulate the feats of Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia in 2017.
"It's all down to you," said Boisson gesturing to the packed stands during her on-court interview with Alizé Cornet.
"Thank you. It was a wonderful atmosphere."
The 22-year-old provided the feel-good fodder for the partisans after levelling the encounter and matching the vastly more experienced Pegula in the decider.
Serving for a 5-4 lead, Pegula squandered three separate occasions to edge ahead and staved off three break points.
Boisson took the 11-minute long game with her fourth chance when a Pegula forehand slapped into the net.
Serving for the match at 5-4 up, she moved to within two points of victory and then wobbled.
Chances
Pegula had four separate chances to level at 5-5. Twice Boisson robbed her of parity with bold shot-making and twice Pegula botched makeable winners for a player of her calibre.
On her first match point, Boisson's serve stretched Pegula out wide to the left and she moved in to claim the scalp with a forehand winner.
"I never thought I'd keep up with her in the final set," Boisson said. "But I had the confidence to play my shots and I never gave up."
Boisson, who returned to the circuit in March after an 11-month break for injury, will play the sixth seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals.
The 18-year-old Russian dispensed with Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-5 to reach the last eight for the second consecutive year.
Target
Second seed Coco Gauff advanced to the last eight for the fifth time in six visits.
The 21-year-old American beat the 20th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0, 7-5.
"It feels great to be back in the quarter-finals here. I am really happy with how I played today and hopefully can keep going," she said.
Gauff will play her fellow American Madison Keys for a place in the semi-finals.
Keys, who won the Australian Open in January, dispatched her compatriot Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in 95 minutes.
In the top half of the men's draw, last year's beaten finalist Alexander Zverev moved into the quarter-finals following the retirement of the Tallon Griekspoor in the second set with a stomach muscle injury.
Zverev was leading 6-3, 3-0 when the 28-year-old Dutchman threw in the towel.
"It's a tough one to take," said Griekspoor. "Especially since I felt very good coming into the second week physically even after playing two four-setters and one five-setter.
"I didn't feel too tired. I felt pretty good. I felt mentally pretty fresh, So that hurts."
Zverev will play the sixth seed Novak Djokovic.
The 38-year-old Serb, who is seeking a record 25th singles title at a Grand Slam tournament, beat Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 14 minutes to register his 100th victory at the tournament in his 21 visits to the Roland Garros Stadium.
"One hundred is a nice number," said Djokovic. "But 101 is a better number. The journey is not finished yet. I want to continue to make history in this sport that has given me so much."
