11 June, 2017
Perhaps not a typical 20-year-old, she revealed a passion for ballroom dancing - she was professional for seven years and it's something she believes helps her footwork - and Agatha Christie's detective novels, sometimes reading to pass the time during tournaments. She earned her trophy with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over second time Roland Garros finalist Simona Halep.
And there is no second guessing, even though Ostapenko was clad in disbelief.
Meet Jelena Ostapenko, a 20-year-old player who had yet to win a WTA level tournament of any kind until her Roland Garros triumph. It was my dream. So I want to really hit the ball.
"I didn't see how people could play tennis on it".
"I'm so glad it went my way".
Ostapenko had promised to stick to her uncomplicated routine of attack-attack-attack before the final and was true to her word as she walloped 54 clean winners - and 54 unforced errors. She then had three break points to move to 4-0.
The stocky baseliner is the first unseeded champion in the professional era.
As The New York Times reports, Saturday's win makes Ostapenko the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933.
Seemingly destined for defeat, Ostapenko had to do it the hard way.
The junior Wimbledon champion in 2014, she will now head to the All England Club next month among the contenders.
Her father Evgenijs is a former professional footballer.
"To go away", Halep said, as she fought back the tears.
Ostapenko prefers to be called Alona.
Her ambition will be slightly easier to achieve now that Serena Williams, her idol, is off the tour, expecting her first child in September.
On Saturday, when she might have shown signs of nerves in the biggest match of her life, Ostapenko began with three huge winners in the first game and ended with a backhand return victor rifled down the line before Halep had moved.
Ranked No 47 pre-tournament, Ostapenko will climb now to No 12. The last player to do that at the French was Gustavo Kuerten, who reigned at Roland Garros before Nadal usurped his throne.
Until Roland Garros, Ostapenko was best known outside of Latvia as a racquet-throwing villain after an incident in Auckland in January, when she nearly hit a ball boy.
Halep took charge again early in the final set, getting the break at 3-1 after taking some pace off the ball and drawing an error, but again Ostapenko came straight back.
And then she roared away.
- Ostapenko broke third seed Halep in the fifth and seventh games to take a 4-3 lead in the second set.
The ball was tracking wide but clattered into the net, ballooned high into the air and landed in for an improbable victor - and break of service.
Though Ostapenko scored 14 winners in the set against just one for Halep, her 23 unforced errors far outnumbered Halep's tally of two.
Behind after 39 minutes, Ostapenko showed no inclination to temper her approach.
Halep came in as the favourite as she had more big-match experience, having been runner-up to Maria Sharapova in a tight three-setter in 2014.
"It's a tough day today because I couldn't win but let's work, let's keep working, let's believe", she said, before turning her attention to Ostapenko.
- Ostapenko and Halep split four breaks of serve in the opening six games.
