Halep to face unseeded Ostapenko in French Open women's singles final

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.

The unseeded Latvian had never before been beyond the third round at a grand slam but she showed maturity beyond her 20 years to keep her cool under scorching conditions in Paris, even when facing three break points at 6-4 3-0 down.

She was also the first unseeded player to reach the final at Roland Garros in 34 years, according to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

On her part, Ostapenko celebrated her 20th birthday with a 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3 win over Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky.

She is the first Latvian to reach a Slam final, going one step further than Ernests Gulbis in 2014 when a young Ostapenko was in his players' box as he beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in Paris.

Victory for Halep in the final would give her the world No.1 ranking for the first time in her career but Ostapenko just seems like an unstoppable force.

"(Ostapenko) is a unsafe player for everybody, I think, but I would bet everything I have on Simona", she said. "I expect her to give everything she has, to hit all the balls, to play with confidence".

And it is the Romanian who will have that opportunity after she proved just the stronger in the deciding set. It was her 50th victor of the match, against 45 errors.

"I learned many things during the years, not just after that final". He is 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, beating Djokovic at the 2015 French Open and the 2016 U.S. Open.

However, it was Halep that got the upper hand as she won the decider 6-3. Clay isn't even her preferred surface - she likes grass better, and won the Wimbledon junior title in 2014 - which made this two-week joyride even more unpredictable.

Bacsinszky battled back after losing the first set tiebreak but she was eventually overwhelmed by Jelena Ostapenko.

The 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) Halep is a ball-chasing, defensive dynamo unafraid of lengthy exchanges who gets to almost everything off an opponent's racket and is careful when she swings.

Ostapenko, who had never won a match at Roland Garros before 2017, vowed in Saturday's (AEST) news conference that she would stick with the attacking approach that has served her so well and she proved good to her word in the first game, breaking to love in stunning fashion with a series of backhand winners.

She is also hoping to win a maiden tour-level title at a Slam, a feat lasted accomplished by Gustavo Kuerten at the French Open in 1997 on the same day Ostapenko was born. "She's a baby. The way she hits is fascinating".

- Latvian Jelena Ostapenko claimed opening set 7-6 (4) against Swiss Timea Bacsinszky in the semi-final after each player dropped serve three times during an hour's play on Court Philippe-Chatrier. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals, then withdrew from the tournament before the third round previous year because of an injured left wrist. - Simona Halep's coach Darren Cahill, about Ostapenko.

The victor Saturday will be a first-time Grand Slam champion. "It probably helps me to win today".