UNSEEDED OSTAPENKO MAKES FRENCH OPEN FINAL

It was a birthday bash for both semifinal opponents — the 20th for Jelena Ostapenko and 28th for Timea Bacsinszky — at the French Open on Thursday. But when the tennis part of the party was over, it was Latvian Ostapen- ko who left the court with the best birthday present ever — a ticket to her first career Grand Slam final. Ostapenko won the prize with a 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3 victory against the 30th-seeded Swiss, who was playing in her second French Open semifinal in three years. As Bascinszky exited the court, the crowd broke into song for Ostapenko, Joyeaux Anniversaire to the same tune as Happy Birthday. They sang it twice after the 2-hour, 25-minute match wrapped up. “I’m really happy,” 47th-ranked Ostapenko said to the crowd. It has been a long time since a woman accomplished the feat of scoring a first career title at a Grand Slam: Australian Christine O’Neil at the 1978 Australian Open. To achieve the ultimate — winning her first Grand Slam title on her first try — Ostapenko will have to get the better of third-seeded Simona Halep, the Romanian who’s into her second Grand Slam final. Halep, a French Open finalist in 2014, came through the semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory against second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic.