Jelena Ostapenko said she was amazed to be the first unseeded player since 1933 to capture the French Open on Saturday in a stunning and fearless 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Simona Halep.
In the first set Halep active actions won only one ball, but 23 unforced errors from Ostapenko allowed the flavor of the final to take the lead.
In baking sunshine Ostapenko began the match by breaking Halep's serve with three clean winners and ended it, two hours later with two scintillating backhands.
The fourth-seeded Nadal is 9-0 in French Open finals but he hasn't played in one since 2014.
"Sometimes I felt like a spectator", the defeated third seed told a news conference.
The Romanian had played the percentages, with just one victor and two errors, and she looked set to end her wait for a major title when she moved 3-0 up in the second.
- The unseeded Latvian youngster took her winners tally to 48.
Halep went on to build a 3-0 lead into the second set.
The 20-year-old is the youngest French Open victor since Iva Majoli in 1997 and the first player to win a debut tour-level title at a Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in Paris that same year.
And what of the beaten finalist, the woman who was many people's tip to win the title here after a superb clay season: semis in Stuttgart, title in Madrid and the final in Rome.
Add Halep to the list.
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- Ostapenko and Halep split four breaks of serve in the opening six games.
Halep consolidated with a gritty hold for 3-0 before Ostapenko fought off a trio of break points to stall her rival's momentum and spark an incredible comeback. It's an incredible thing.
"Even when she got to the quarter-finals she was happy but not excited".
Jelena Ostapenko & Martina Navratilova (1978 Wimbledon) are the only women in Open Era to win 1st Grand Slam from down a set in the Final.
She has only previously reached the second round, but, having overcome such long odds at the French Open, she will be full of confidence heading into the competition.
"I can not believe I am champion at 20 years old". Her reward? More than $2.4 million, roughly doubling her career prize before this event.
Her big hitting is also a testament to her favourite player Serena Williams, whose sheer force of will and raw power have been key elements in her success.
But Ostapenko had made almost as many errors and the challenge for her was to keep the ratio in her favour.
Ostapenko has tended to be unpredictable and volatile. "I think she's playing probably similar to my style, so she was my idol". But she held herself in check at Roland Garros and now will climb from No. 47 in the world rankings to No 12.
After smiting the last of her 54 winners, she is the French Open champion, which, oh yeah, is her first title.
"I think when I go back home, there will be a lot of attention and this is really nice because I made history for my country", said Ostapenko. "It was my dream".
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