Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko shocks Simona Halep to win French Open

PARIS — Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko rallied after dropping the first set and going down 0-3 in the second to shock No. 3 seed Simona Halep on Saturday to capture the French Open women’s championship for her first Grand Slam title.

Ostapenko became the first Latvian player — man or woman — to win a Grand Slam event, hitting 54 winners to beat Halep of Romania 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Philippe-Chatrier Court in Paris.

The 47th-ranked Ostapenko, only two days past her 20th birthday, raised her arms in victory after drilling a final backhand winner down the line.

“I can’t believe I am the Roland Garros champion and I am only 20 years old,” Ostapenko told the enthusiastic crowd. “It was my dream always as a child to win here.”

Ostapenko became the first unseeded woman to win at Roland Garros since 1933. She will make her top 20 ranking debut with the win, moving to No. 12 with the victory.

“I knew Simona is a great player and she was playing great,” Ostapenko said. “I was just trying to stay aggressive. I was missing but a couple of games were decisive and everything turned my way. Even in the third I was 3-1 down but I tried to fight for every point.

“I love you guys. Congrats Simona, you were playing amazing. I was happy to win but I think you will win it one day and wish you all the best for the season. I would like to thank my team and my family, and all my friends who came to support me. Thanks a lot.”

Ostapenko, playing in only her eighth Grand Slam tournament, had never won a tour-level title before winning this French Open. The last woman to win her first title at a major was Barbara Jordan of the United States at the 1979 Australian Open.

Ostapenko made 23 unforced errors in the first set and then trailed 3-0 in the second — saving three break points that would have seen her fall behind 0-4 — before turning the match around and forcing a third set. She also faced a 3-1 deficit in the deciding third set before taking the last five games.

The 25-year-old Halep was denied her first major championship and the No. 1 world ranking for the first time. She was playing in her second major final after being the runner-up to Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros in 2014.

“She was hitting very strong,” Halep, who will move to No. 2 in the world, said after the match. “At some point I was like a spectator on court. She deserved to win.

“It’s a tough moment for me, but it’s gonna go away, I hope, with time. I will keep working, because I really want to repeat what I have done this tournament. We will see what is gonna be.”