Boisson lights up French Open, Sinner advances to semis

PARIS :Wildcard Lois Boisson lit up the French Open on Wednesday when the home hope toppled sixth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to reach the last four, overshadowing men's world number one Jannik Sinner who cruised past Alexander Bublik.

While Sinner stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 19 matches after earning back-to-back titles at the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in January, Boisson, ranked 361st at the start of the tournament, thrilled the home crowd with a dazzling performance.

Sinner will face the winner between three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic, hunting a record-breaking 25th singles Grand Slam, and Germany's third seed Alexander Zverev in the last four.

Sinner, who beat Bublik in straight sets, is the first Italian man to reach six Grand Slam semi-finals.

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 number one, Bublik, who hit 37 drop shots against Draper, pulled out this weapon again in the second set.

But Sinner broke and held to take it. Ever the entertainer, the 27-year-old Bublik delighted the crowd with an underarm serve but ultimately could do nothing to stop the Italian's march into the last four.

BOISSON SPARKLES

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.

The 22-year-old had stunned third seed Jessica Pegula in round