By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) -Having experienced intense media scrutiny early in her career, Coco Gauff knows all too well the attention her French Open semi-final opponent, local favourite Lois Boisson, faces.
Boisson, ranked 361st in the world, burst into the limelight at Roland Garros with an impressive run to the last four and while it ended in a 6-1 6-2 defeat on Thursday, the 22-year-old will shoot up the WTA rankings.
“I think her position is especially harder because I think in the French (Open) there’s not a lot of (local) players who have made this result in recent years. So I think the whole country is going to be looking at everything,” Gauff told a press conference.
No French female player had reached the French Open semi-final since Marion Bartoli in 2011.
“I guess my biggest advice is just to stay true to yourself and keep your people around you, what they expect from you, not what media expects from you or other outside analysts expect for you,” Gauff added.
Boisson, however, appeared to have her feet firmly on the ground throughout her Paris stay.
“I don’t know her too well, but the fact that she’s had such a great run and even with all the media attention that happened so fast, obviously I think she has her head on her right shoulders,” the American world number two said.
“It’s going to be probably a weird few months for her, but I think the more it happens, the more you get used to it.”
Boisson is not planning to change much beyond her tournament schedule as with a new ranking of 65th she will surely get direct entry into the Grand Slam and top-event main draws.
“Necessarily when we win more matches and we get into the top 100, then people take more of an interest in you. It’s logical,” she said.
“But I don’t have any particular pressure. I have a great team with me, and I’m going to keep my feet well on the ground and all will be well.
“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.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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