PARIS. — Wild card Lois Boisson lit up the French Open on Wednesday when the home hope downed sixth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva to make the semifinals before Novak Djokovic set up a blockbuster meeting with world No. 1 c.
While Sinner stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 19 matches after back-to-back titles at the US Open last year and the Australian Open in January, Boisson, ranked 361st, thrilled the home crowd with a dazzling performance.
Three-time French Open winner Novak Djokovic stole the show in the evening by outlasting German third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to remain in the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title at the venue of his Olympic gold medal last year.
Victory after three hours and 17 minutes was the 38-year-old Serbian’s 101st win at Roland Garros but he had to draw from his seemingly endless reserves of energy and experience to prevail.
“There was a lot of tension, pressure but it’s normal when you play Zverev, one of the best in the world, in the last five to six years,” Djokovic said.
“My game is based on a lot of running. I’m 38, it’s not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works.”
Sinner was barely troubled as he defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 and became the first Italian man to reach six Grand Slam semifinals.
The 23-year-old, who served a three-month doping ban before returning to action in Rome last month, raced through the first set after twice breaking the Kazakh, who had stunned fifth seed Jack Draper in the previous round.
Looking to become the first man representing Kazakhstan to defeat a world No. 1, Bublik, who hit 37 drop shots against Draper, pulled out this weapon again in the second set.
Sinner broke and held to take it before the 27-year-old Bublik, ever the entertainer, delighted fans with an underarm serve but ultimately could do nothing to stop the Italian’s march into the last four.
Earlier Boisson became the toast of France after staging the tournament’s biggest upset with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Andreeva, who had been tipped as a title contender, in an electrifying match that had the home crowd on the edge of their seats.
