Jelena Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open women’s singles title, besting Simona Halep in three sets in the final on Saturday, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Jelena Ostapenko wins 2017 French Open women’s title
The unseeded Ostapenko bested Simona Halep in the finals at the French Open.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Ostapenko entered the French Open as an unseeded player, but she carved a path through the bracket that included a win over Caroline Wozniaki in the quarterfinals, 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals, and finally, Halep, the third seed, in the final.
Prior to 2017, Ostapenko had never won a match on the clay of Roland Garros. And going into the match, she looked a little rusty in the beginning set. But she picked things up in a major way in the second and was dominant from there.
The second set wasn’t nearly as close as the first, at least at the start. Halep held serve twice and scored a break and nearly had a second break to go up 4-0. But Ostapenko did fight it off and then surprised Halep by immediately breaking back and getting things back on serve.
Things quickly went off serve when Ostapenko held and then broke Halep again, cleanly, to go up 4-3 in the second set. A dominant game on Halep’s next service forced the third seed to hit multiple forehand errors, and Ostapenko went up 5-4. She served for the set and took it without issue.
The second set saw Ostapenko convert on three of nine break point attempts. It also saw her hit 22 winners to Halep’s three.
In the third set, Ostapenko had a double break point opportunity, but Halep managed to get things to deuce. Halep was able to fight off the break and took the first game of the set. Ostapenko held, Halep held, and then Halep managed to break Ostapenko to take a crucial 3-1 lead. But Ostapenko immediately breaks back with a beautiful forehand winner in the deciding point.
Ostapenko held serve and then scored a break on Halep to go up 4-3, with a chance to serve for what would probably be an insurmountable lead. She held serve and was looking at a win if she could break Halep.
The men’s final will take place on Sunday. It will feature third seed Stan Wawrinka and fourth seed Rafael Nadal. Nadal is going for his 10th French Open title.
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