Ostapenko first talked of winning French Open at 10, says mother

PARIS (Reuters) - Few other people saw it coming but Jelena Ostapenko's mother was not surprised that her daughter burst into the limelight to claim the French Open title in spectacular fashion on Saturday. "Before the match, 5-10 minutes, I was a little bit nervous," said Ostapenko, the first Latvian -- woman or man -- to win a major. AP Photo/Christophe Ena

Ostapenko was playing in only her eighth Grand Slam tournament and never had been past the third round before. Those numbers are counter-balanced by her unforced errors -- 54 on Saturday and 271 in total -- but they were not enough to stop the energy-charged Ostapenko from bulldozing her way to the title, firing faster forehands on average than men's world number one Andy Murray.
In tennis, Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia defeats Simona Halep of Romania 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 in the Women's Singles of the French Open. It is Ostapenko's first WTA Tour title, making her the first woman to earn her first tour victory at a Grand Slam event since Barbara Jordan at the 1979 Australian Open. She also becomes the first Latvian of either sex to win a Grand Slam event and the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933.