Maiden grand slam finals are meant to be suffocating experiences but Jelena Ostapenko laid waste to that theory as she blasted past Simona Halep to win the French Open in audacious fashion.
In only her 18th match at a major, the 20-year-old Latvian fought back from a set and 3-0 down to blaze past the experienced Romanian 4-6 6-4 6-3 and become her country's first grand slam champion.
She is the first unseeded woman to win since 1933 and she emulated the great Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten by claiming her first title of any kind on the hallowed Parisian clay.
Kuerten's 1997 victory came on the day Ostapenko was born.
Ostapenko had promised to stick to her uncomplicated routine before the final and was true to her word as she walloped 54 clean winners - and 54 unforced errors.
Third seed Halep buckled under strain of fending off the missiles being launched off Ostapenko's lime green racket.
Yet for much of the contest, hanging into rallies by her fingernails, it seemed Halep's steady approach would see her become only the second Romanian woman to win a grand slam title after her manager Virginia Ruzici's 1978 Roland Garros win.
It was not to be.
To make it a doubly difficult day for the 25-year-old, the defeat meant she also missed out on becoming world No.1 on Monday.
"I felt like a spectator out there at times," Halep, said after her second runner-up finish at Roland Garros.
"She only has one game, either I can't touch it or it flies one metre out."
Ostapenko, who had the Parisian crowd roaring her on, reeled off the last five games to claim the title and become the youngest female first-time grand slam champion since Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova won the 2004 US Open.
Fittingly she thumped a backhand winner past Halep to seal victory, before tossing her distinctive green headband into the crowd with a look of disbelief.
Ostapenko, who turned 20 on Thursday when she beat Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, will rocket to 12th in the rankings.
"I mean I can't believe I'm champion at 20," Ostapenko said on court.
"I knew that Gustavo Kuerten won his first Roland Garros the day I was born, I have no words.
"There were a couple of games when everything went my way and I was ready to fight for every point."
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