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

Paris June 9 (IANS) Women s No. 3 seed Simona Halep of Romania made a comeback into the final at Roland Garros after three years with a three-set victory over the second-seeded Karolina Pliskova while Latvian promising star Jelena Ostapenko got a perfect birthday gift as she overcame Timea Bacsinszky in the women s singles semi-finals here.

After top seed Angelique Kerber s early exit Halep and Pliskova were involved in a tense battle for the top position in WTA world rankings. A title would be sufficient for Halep to achieve that with a final appearance for Pliskova reports Xinhua news agency.

After finishing an epic comeback in the quarter-final clash with Elina Svitolina the Romanian maintained her momentum on the clay court and showed her advantage in power against a much taller opponent to take away the opening set 6-4 after a poor forehand from the No. 2 seed went outside on Thursday.

At the beginning I was serving pretty bad there and I suffered two double faults in that game. This is one match that could be totally different from the beginning commented Pliskova.

Pliskova also in quest for the world No. 1 place bounced back in a 6-3 win in the second set. However it was Halep who got the upper hand as she won the decider 6-3.

Halep finished a total of 14 winners against her 14 unforced errors while Pliskova s 55 unforced errors cancelled out her 45 winners.

Today was a great battle. Every point was very important. I felt that I had to run for and focus on every ball said Halep who made her last appearance in the final at Roland Garros in 2014.

To be in the final it s just about happiness. I feel proud because I think the mental part helped me a lot this tournament in all matches she added.

In the third set everything was through the long rally which is better for her and she s winning on a higher percentage definitely Pliskova pointed out.

The other semi-final featured two players that celebrated their birthdays on game day. Ostapenko who turned 20 became the first Latvian to reach a Grand Slam final with a 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-3 victory over the 28-year-old Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland.

I m really happy to be in the final especially on my birthday. It s a nice gift said Ostapenko who earned her maiden appearance in the final of a Grand Slam tournament.

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).

--IANS
tri/bg