Gauff hits top gear to end Boisson's run

It’s well documented that the 22-year-old was forced into ACL surgery last May. Taking her bow at her home major had to wait another year and the world No.361 has more than grasped her opportunity.

Two top 10 talents – Jessica Pegula then Mirra Andreeva - fell to her crafty, yet explosive game. Could the Frenchwoman strike three times?

World No.2 Coco Gauff is a global superstar, and justifiably so as a Grand Slam winner. It was a big ask.

Story of the match

The beginning of the warm-up featured a stadium-wide cheer for the home player's every stroke, before chants of 'LO-IS' - combined with three loud claps - rung around Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Gauff, contesting her 23rd Grand Slam main draw, was far from ruffled and made an expert start. The first point set the tone. The American made a last-ditched volley from near the baseline and then managed to curl a backhand lob into court.

Boisson then dinked a backhand drop shot just over, earning applause from the No.2 seed, but Gauff was gaining the upper hand in both the shorter and longer exchanges.

A crushing inside-in forehand from the 2022 runner-up was the stardust that helped her soar even further ahead.

The world No.361 carved out three break points at 3-0 down, but Gauff utilised all her major experience and the US Open 2023 champion escaped. It felt vital, and it was.

With 26 minutes on the clock, Boisson posted a game on the board, but Gauff was well into her stride to accelerate a set and 3-1 in front.

The French wild card crushed some shots with extra conviction to momentarily derail Gauff for a break back.

The No.2 seed instantly stamped out any chance of a comeback, though, strolling to the net for a hug with Boisson after an accomplished 69 minutes of play. A third Grand Slam final incoming on Saturday.

Key stats

The 21-year-old has already tallied 70 Grand Slam victories with just 21 losses.

Gauff is the youngest player since the Madrid Open's inception in 2009 to reach the big three clay finals at the Spanish capital, Rome and Roland-Garros in the same season.

Joining Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams, Gauff is only the fourth American to reach multiple women’s singles finals in Paris.

The world No.1 and world No.2 will vie for the trophy for the first time at Roland-Garros since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in 2013.

What Gauff thinks

Praise for Boisson: “It's always the plan to try to start strong, but I knew it was important today. Lois is obviously an incredible player. In this tournament, she has definitely proven she's one of the best players in the world, especially on clay. I'm sure we will have many battles in the future, hopefully here. Congratulations to her for an incredible tournament. Today just happened to be my day."

Dealing with the partisan Parisians: “This is my first time playing a French player here in this tournament that I can remember. How I managed it? I was mentally prepared before the match. I knew during the match it was going to be 99 per cent for her but I just tried to block it out. Actually, when you guys were chanting her name, I was saying my name to myself - just to kind of psych myself up. You have to do that.”

Heading into the final, using 2022 experience: “It will definitely help me – I was super nervous going into that final. Obviously, I’m playing Aryna (Sabalenka), it’s going to be a tough match. Overall I’m really proud of myself. There’s a lot more work to do. I’m just going to enjoy this one and then tomorrow start the preparation for the final.”