RG17 Highs and lows: #2, Ostapenko makes history in Paris

Some stars passed on playing in the French Open, while others weren't allowed in. You know all their names. What matters is what took place inside and outside the lines in Paris. On the heels of a fairly predictable and alternately off-the-chain major event, here are the thoroughly vetted, unequivocal–or entirely subjective–best and worst moments from the 2017 French Open.

See No. 3 here.

2

As it turns out, Jelena Ostapenko’s huge win in Paris had some precedent.

Perhaps she bottled some inspiration from the 1930s, from one Margaret Schriven.

With her French Open singles championship, Ostapenko propelled herself to No. 12 in the rankings, up from a relatively pedestrian No. 47 slot. Moving forward, she will always be considered a contender–one who, at age 19 and then at 20 in this event, deployed a muscular arsenal of missiles against her competition.

And yet, her birthday on the occasion of her semifinal match against Timea Bacsinszky (a fellow b’day celebrator that day) wasn’t the only milestone in play for her at this event.

On one level, the same-sy look of her championship match victory over Simona Halep, in which Ostapenko came back in both the second and third sets, was a bit boring. (Even so, winner: Adidas.)

But Ostapenko carried the day, and over the course of that Saturday, delivered a series of ostensibly flummoxed Ostapenko faces.

This is not your 1970s Ice Queen.

The inevitable came up–comparing Ostapenko to all-time greats, as she’s a major winner at such a young age. A Monica Seles comparison even cropped up and may not go away. But just like Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, there will not be another Seles, nor Steffi Graf, Serena Williams or the like.

This is the first and only Jelena Ostapenko before our eyes, and we may get a good decade or more of hits (hard hits) from her.

Paris, eat your heart out. And you, too, WTA Top 10 abiders. Prepare for an all-out assault on the castle.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.