Very few casual tennis fans had heard of Jelena Ostapenko before this year’s French Open, but her excellent performances en route to the semi-final at Roland Garros have now put her firmly in the spotlight as one to watch. The unseeded Latvian teenager has beaten two seeded players, Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur, as well as 2016 Olympic champion Monica Puig, to set up a last-four clash with Timea Bacsinszky.

Ostapenko’s latest victory, 4-6 6-2 6-2 over Wozniacki, was her most impressive – particularly considering the rain breaks and the swirling wind that affected the majority of sets one and two. The Latvian, 19, adapted her game well once she got used to the conditions by allowing herself more margin for error on her shots by not hitting them as close to the lines. She also admirably handled the pressure of her first Grand Slam quarter-final and the challenge of coming back from a set down. It was a performance that showed a maturity beyond her years.

And it followed a spectacular display of hitting in the fourth round, as Ostapenko hit 46 winners during her win over 2010 Roland Garros finalist Sam Stosur. Incredibly, that was not even the Latvian’s highest winner tally of the tournament, as she racked up 55 in her opening round against Louisa Chirico.

It will be interesting to see whether the teenager can power the ball past semi-final opponent Bacsinszky as much as she needs to. But she will not have to look far for inspiration, as Wozniacki’s game style is quite similar to the Swiss. Both players are excellent defenders and movers with strong two-handed backhands. In this way, there was arguably no better dress rehearsal for Ostapenko to experience ahead of her last-four clash with the 30th seed.

It may seem as though this run from Ostapenko has come from absolutely nowhere, but there are several indicators that suggested it was a possibility – although maybe not as soon as this. Firstly, the Latvian won a junior Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2014. Secondly, she reached a WTA Premier final in Doha in February 2016 and a Premier quarter-final in Birmingham four months later. And thirdly, she has already beaten top players in her career: Wozniacki (three times before Roland Garros 2017), Kvitova (twice) and Kuznetsova.

Despite this excellent start to her tennis career, Ostapenko remains the outsider for the French Open title, whatever happens in the two remaining quarter-finals. However, she has achieved something extraordinary already by putting herself in the mix for glory, and can take a lot of confidence forward with her into the rest of the tournaments in 2017.

That is not to say the Latvian cannot win this year’s French Open. She has fantastic shot-making abilities, a strong mentality, and a good all-around game, and these qualities mean that she can challenge anyone on the WTA tour if she plays well. She also has the least to lose of anyone left in the draw: Halep is expected to win, Bacsinszky may never get a better chance at a Grand Slam, Svitolina is the second favorite, Pliskova is the highest-ranked player and Garcia is playing in her home country. Compared to these burdens, Ostapenko can swing with freedom and just might become the first teenager to win a Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal in 2005.