Lifted by her aggressive game, unseeded Jelena Ostapenko triumphs at Roland Garros

20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko used her aggressive game to win her first title at the 2017 French Open.

PARIS – Nonetheless, she persisted.

In the 2017 French Open women's final on Saturday, unseeded Jelena Ostapenko upset No. 3-seed Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win her first major singles title—and her first pro title period.

You can't simulate the experience of playing in your first Grand Slam final. So it is that performances vary greatly. A teenage Maria Sharapova—with only seven major appearances at the time—can show up and take down Serena Williams, as she did at Wimbledon in 2004. Other players walk out, see the trophy in the back of the court, and vaporize. Credit JelenaOstapenko for skewing towards the former. For seven rounds, the 20-year-old Latvian played with poise belying her experience level.

Trailing 0-3, Ostapenko storms her way to a 4-3 lead over Halep!

Enorme point et break pour Ostapenko ! #RG17 pic.twitter.com/bFl7SgT4ng

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2017

On Saturday, she continued her abashed bashing. And while she missed plenty—and showed the consequent frustration—she is to be credited for sticking to her aggressive instincts and continuing to fight. And damn, did it pay off. From a set and 0-3 down in the second, and then 1-3 in the final set, she fought back with persistence. 

Get to know 20-year-old surprise French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko

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After smiting the last of her 54 winners, she is the French Open champion, which, oh yeah, is her first title. What breakthrough event for a player who still has rough edges but does not lack for self-belief. Her reward? More than $2.4 million, roughly doubling her career prize before this event. And she’s more than halved her ranking, now up to No. 12. Wow.