French Open 2017: Simona Halep, Jelena Ostapenko Reach Final at Roland Garros

Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko reached the final of the 2017 French Open after winning their semi-final matches at Roland Garros on Thursday.

Halep beat second seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, while Ostapenko overcame Timea Bacsinszky 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 after being taken to a third set to reach her first final in a Grand Slam.

Qualifying for the final was the perfect way for Ostapenko to celebrate her 20th birthday and make history for Latvia.

With the world No.1 ranking on the line, along with a place in the final, Halep held off spirited attempts from Pliskova to disrupt her rhythm, before eventually taking the first set. The Romanian had made a bright start to leave ESPN's Brad Gilbert impressed:

By contrast, Pliskova looked erratic on the clay, according to Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:

Pliskova was guilty of too many mistakes early on, with the Roland Garros official Twitter account relaying highlights of the gaffe that handed Halep the opening set:

Yet it was a different story entirely in the second, with Pliskova consistently holding serve. She saw things out at 6-3 to force a third set.

The pace on the Paris clay was a frenetic one, so Pliskova's impressive serve-and-volley game was paying dividends. Even so, the second seed wasn't manufacturing enough winning shots off her returns.

Both players continued to hold serve in the third, although Pliskova had to save a break point more than once. Her luck ran out when a fantastic forehand from the baseline put Halep 3-1 in front, per Eurosport UK:

Pliskova couldn't break back, despite being 15-40 ahead in the next game, so Halep took control of the set. However, there was another shift in momentum when Pliskova forced things back to 4-3, before Halep broke again for a 5-3 lead.

When she needed to, Halep held serve to reach her second final at Roland Garros.

Earlier, Bacsinszky was hobbled partway through the first set when she required treatment on a knee problem. WTA Insider's Courtney Nguyen detailed the issue:

Not surprisingly, it wasn't too long before Ostapenko took advantage to claim the first set, albeit only after a valiant Bacsinszky had forced a tiebreak . The Roland Garros official Twitter account described the winning shot:

At this point, Rothenberg felt the fates were aligning for Ostapenko:

To her credit, Ostapenko was bending fate to her will with some exceptional tennis. She made more of her shots count during the first set, per WTA Insider:

However, it was a different story in the second, as 30th seed Bacsinszky rallied back brilliantly. The Swiss player took advantage of a series of errors from a suddenly nervy Ostapenko.

In particular, the young Latvian was wasting the considerable power in her game by not matching it with enough accuracy. She was errant with several forehands and overhit a key drop shot as Bacsinszky comfortably took the second at 6-3.

Ostapenko's power was still obvious in the third, but she also began to find her range again. Her forehand deliveries were proving a nightmare for Bacsinszky, with the speed of the shots outpacing those of the World No.1 in the men's bracket:

"

Average forehand speed Andy Murray: 73 MPH

Average forehand speed for Jelena Ostapenko: 76 MPH

#RG17 pic.twitter.com/qf2vLZZl5R

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2017"

Yet another formidable forehand put Ostapenko in control of the third, per Rothenberg:

It was a lead she never relinquished as Ostapenko booked her place in a first Slam final. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times noted how she had made history in the process:

Now she faces an even bigger challenge in trying to overcome Halep, a player one win away from earning the world No.1 ranking in the WTA.