Simona Halep moved to within a victory of her first Grand Slam title and the world number one ranking with a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova in the 2017 French Open semifinals on Thursday. Halep needed two hours to produce the three-set win and in the process reach her second French Open final in the last four years.
Standing in her way in that grand showdown is talented youngster Jelena Ostapenko. That final will be a contrast of styles with Halep’s incredible defense going up against Ostapenko’s go-for-broke power hitting. Halep displayed his defensive capabilities in the semis win against Pliskova, winning 42 percent of her receiving points on Thursday.
It isn’t just her defense, though, that is the difference nowadays but also her attitude and demeanor. Gone is the negativity that has plagued Halep’s game before. A temporary split with coach Darren Cahill back in Miami shook Halep’s senses and the change now is there for all to see. Since winning her coach back, Halep has reached the semis at Stuttgart, won Madrid, reached the final at Rome, and now has reached the final at Roland Garros.
Key for Halep this coming Saturday is her first serve. She is fifth in this year’s French Open in first serve percentage with an incredible 77 percent clip. Halep took full advantage of that fact in her win against Pliskova, winning 71 percent of her first serve points. If she can regularly put her first serves in play against Ostapenko, that will put tremendous pressure against the 20-year-old who’s appearing in the biggest game of her career.
The dream lives on for Jelena Ostapenko. The former Wimbledon junior champion stormed into the finals of the 2017 French Open with a nerve-wracking 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 victory over Timea Bacsinszky on Thursday. It was a historic result for Ostapenko who became not only Latvia’s first major finalist but also the youngest woman in a Slam final since 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki at the 2009 US Open.
The 20-year-old will look to complete her fairy tale run this coming Saturday when she takes on third seed Simona Halep in a mouth-watering final clash. This will be the first meeting between Halep and Ostapenko in the WTA Tour. For Ostapenko to defeat Halep, she needs to get a grip of her game and lessen her miscues. She committed a whopping 45 unforced errors in the win against Bacsinszky.
One thing that Ostapenko mustn’t lessen, however, is her aggressiveness. She went gung-ho against Bacsinszky in the semis and it paid major dividends for her. Ostapenko drilled an incredible 50 winners against the Swiss star. She also put pressure on Bacsinszky by attacking the net regularly, winning 19 of her 27 points there. Ostapenko will need that same kind of mindset in the final to unsettle the experienced Halep who’s a known grinder on clay.
Writer’s Prediction
Halep (-360) win his first-ever Grand Slam title in straight sets.
