Ostapenko upsets Halep for 1st title

PARIS — Right from the start of the French Open final, Jelena Ostapenko made quite clear to anyone unfamiliar with her name, or her game, what she is all about.

Yes, she was just two days past her 20th birthday. Yes, she was ranked only 47th. Yes, she was trying to become the first unseeded women’s champion at the tournament since 1933. And yes, she was trying to become the first woman in nearly four decades to make a Grand Slam title the first tourlevel triumph of her career.

None of that mattered to Ostapenko. She began what would become a 2hour encounter by breaking No. 3 seed Simona Halep at love with a series of grip-itand-rip-it shots, eliciting loud, appreciative gasps from spectators. So what if Ostapenko wound up dropping that set, then facing big deficits in the second and third?

Ostapenko never wavered, using bold strokes and an unbending will to come back and stun Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 for an unlikely title at Roland Garros.

“Before the match, 5-10 minutes, I was a little bit nervous,” said Ostapenko, the first Latvian to win a major. “But then, when I went on the court, I felt quite free.”

Halep, 25, was the 2014 French Open runner-up and would have moved up to No. 1 in the WTA rankings if she had won Saturday. She appeared headed for a runaway victory when up a set and 3-0 in the second, plus holding three break points for the chance to lead 4-0.

But Ostapenko would not go quietly, winning that game and the next three en route to forcing a third set.

“Enjoy, be happy, and keep it going,” Halep told Ostapenko during the trophy ceremony, “because you’re like a kid.”

Ostapenko hit 54 winners, a remarkably high total that was 46 more than Halep. Ostapenko also made 54 unforced errors, to Halep’s 10.

“I’ve been sick in the stomach with emotion,” Halep said. “Maybe I was not ready to win it.”

Ostapenko certainly was ready, sooner than even she could imagine.