The further we go in the French Open, the tighter things are getting for some of the top-seeded women. Iga Swiatek barely held on in three sets on Sunday, and after a rarely straightforward first set, Jessica Pegula was in all kinds of trouble against qualifier Lois Boisson.
The Paris crowd was firmly behind their countrywoman, as they should have been. Pegula knew this, but it was not the crowd noise that bothered the American. It was inconsistency. Plus, Boisson seemed to want to win the match more.
She had never been this far, but playing in her home country's Grand Slam clearly had her focused and fired up. She could have folded after losing the first set 3-6, but instead, she turned nearly every game into a mini-drama for Pegula. The third-seed American struggled to even hold serve, and Boisson got the late break she needed to win the second set 6-4.
Lois Boisson defeats Jessica Pegula in class French Open match
The third set followed the same narrative. Nothing came easy for either player, but Boisson kept points alive that Pegula did not expect. Both players were forced to hit multiple great shots in order to win points. It was magnificent and tenacious tennis.
Boisson was able to get another late-set break at 4-all and needed to hold serve to take the match and create the biggest upset at the 2025 French Open so far. She got off to a 30-love lead, but Pegula came back to win three straight points to set up match point before Boisson accidentally hit the shot of the match that barely dropped over the net.
The game reached deuce four times, and Pegula had her chances to even the set, but Boisson was finally able to break through and get the most important victory of her career 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Boisson will next face a difficult challenge in the quarterfinals. Teenage Mirra Andreeva has been playing brilliant tennis this year and has a good chance of making a run at the French Open title.
In other fourth-round matches on the women's side on Monday, Coco Gauff defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets, and Andreeva did the same to Daria Kasatkina.