By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) -Coco Gauff ended local heroine Lois Boisson’s dream run at the French Open as the American kept her cool in a fiery atmosphere to earn a ruthless 6-1 6-2 victory on Thursday, setting up a blockbuster final with top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Laser-focused, the world number two subdued the French wild card and the home crowd to speed through the contest on Court Philippe Chatrier and reach the Roland Garros final for the second time after she lost to Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Boisson, ranked 361st with only two career matches on the main tour coming into the claycourt major, had downed world number three Jessica Pegula and Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva in the previous rounds but she looked deflated against Gauff.
The 22-year-old will, however, pocket a career-changing 690,000 euros ($789,567) in prize money, while Gauff, 21, will have the chance to secure her second Grand Slam title after winning the 2023 U.S. Open.
Playing a local favourite at Roland Garros in front of a notoriously fierce crowd can be a challenge even for the most seasoned players, but Gauff was ready.
“This is my first time playing a French player here. I was mentally prepared that it was to be 99% for her so I was trying to block it out,” said Gauff.
Addressing the crowd, she added: “When you were saying her name, I was saying my name to myself just to psyche myself.”
EXTRA SHOT
Gauff, who can become the first American since Serena Williams in 2015 to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, clearly shifted up a gear after beating compatriot Madison Keys in an error-strewn quarter-final on Wednesday.
Her forehand was solid again, her backhand mesmerising at times and she served consistently throughout.
Boisson, on the other hand, made an unusual number of unforced errors as her opponent repeatedly forced her to go for the extra shot.
Gauff raced to a 4-0 lead under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof and never looked back, breaking to love at 3-2 in the second set right after Boisson broke her serve for the first time.
The American was on an eight-point winning streak and at the change of ends at 5-2, Boisson placed her towel over her head and hit herself in frustration.
“It’s always the plan to start strong,” said Gauff. “I knew it was important today. She’s an incredible player, she proved to be one of the best players in the world, especially on clay. I’m sure we’ll have more battles in the future.”
DIRECT ENTRY
The first Frenchwoman to reach the last four at Roland Garros since Marion Bartoli in 2011, Boisson bowed out when she sent yet another forehand long.
She will climb up to 65th in the WTA rankings, which will all but guarantee her direct entry into the main draw at Grand Slams and top-tier events.
Boisson has her feet firmly on the ground, though.
“Of course the program will change. It won’t be what was planned at the beginning, considering my upcoming ranking,” she told a press conference.
“But, for the time being, I’m not going to make any particular changes because I think that if I’m here today it’s because it works well and I don’t see why I would change much.
“Today it was quite simply too tough for me. I couldn’t manage to get my game going, but apart from today’s match, which wasn’t all positive, the tournament as a whole was very positive.”
($1 = 0.8739 euros)
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris)
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