The unseeded Jelena Ostapenko battled past Timea Bacsinszky in the battle of the birthdays, while favourite Simona Halep saw off the challenge of Karolina Pliskova
Jelena Ostapenko, who has yet to win a Tour title, is one away from picking up her first grand slam crown after a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Timea Bacsinszky in an epic semi-final at the French Open on Thursday. Hammering groundstrokes with the fearlessness of youth, the 20-year-old bashed 50 winners to get over the line after 2hr 24min and become the first Latvian to reach a major singles final.
Bacsinszky, a semi-finalist two years ago, has the greater experience and more variety but that can count for little when you are being bludgeoned. The Swiss threw everything at her younger opponent and, after levelling the match and then breaking back for 3-3 in the decider, it looked like she had the momentum to go on and win it.
However, Ostapenko never wavered from her all-or-nothing approach and she regained her hot streak in the last three games to become the first unseeded woman to reach the final since 1983. She will play either the second seed Karolina Pliskova or the third seed Simona Halep in the final on Saturday.
Firing stunning winners on both sides, Ostapenko was always the aggressor and after three breaks apiece in the opening set she took the tiebreak 7-4. Bacsinszky knew more than most what to expect, having played doubles with her a couple of times on Tour. The match on Thursday was also a joint birthday celebration for the pair but Ostapenko will have the better memories after holding her nerve on the biggest day of her career.
Bacsinszky needed strapping added to her right thigh at 4-3 in the first set but it did not seem to affect her movement. After Ostapenko won the first set, Bacsinszky broke for 4-3 in the second and went on to level. When she broke back for 3-3, she looked the more likely winner but Ostapenko upped her game again and stormed into the final.
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