French Open finalist Jelena Ostapenko congratulated by Latvian president Raimonds Vejonis
Friday 9 June 2017 17:17, UK
French Open finalist Jelena Ostapenko has revealed that she received a congratulatory phone call from Latvia's president after her historic semi-final victory.
The 20-year-old beat Timea Bacsinszky in three sets to become the country's first Grand Slam finalist, triggering Raimonds Vejonis to send the personal message.
The breakout star of the tournament has been taken aback by the adulation surrounding her exploits in Paris.
The world No 47 said: "Yesterday I got a lot of calls from Latvia - even the president of the country called. So that was really nice to get that much attention from my country.
"It meant a lot to me. I think probably I will have a lot of attention when I come back home."
The level of publicity the sport receives in Latvia is negligible, as ice hockey and basketball tend to dominate in the Baltic country, which makes the racket sport both expensive and unpopular.
However, the 2014 Junior Wimbledon champion is determined to put her country on the sporting map when she faces third seed Simona Halep on Saturday at Roland Garros as the first unseeded finalist in over 30 years.
Reflecting on her semi-final match, Ostapenko spoke candidly about her emotions going into the match and what she has learned form playing in an environment alien to her having yet to win a tour title.
She said: "I need to stay aggressive and to play my game, but it's going to be a tough match and I have to be ready for it.
"Maybe you couldn't see it but yesterday in the second set I was a little bit nervous. But, today, I'm feeling fine because tomorrow is the final. So I'm just going to prepare and enjoy the final tomorrow as just a normal match."
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