French Open: Ostapenko overcomes Pliskova, Stephens crashes out

Jelena Ostapenko played aggressively from the start and hit 27 winners against a strangely subdued Karolina Pliskova, while Sloane Stephens lost to Paula Badosa.

Jelena Ostapenko celebrates after winning match point against Karolina Pliskova on day five of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros.

Former champion Jelena Ostapenko ousted second seed Karolina Pliskova from the French Open with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the second round of the French Open on Thursday after an error-ridden performance from the Czech player.

Latvian Ostapenko, who won the 2017 title as an unseeded player, played aggressively from the start and hit 27 winners as a strangely subdued Pliskova struggled to rein in her unforced errors under the closed roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.

The 23-year-old Ostapenko broke her opponent's serve three times in the first set and twice in the second to seal her victory and ensure that Pliskova remained the only active former world number one who has not won a Grand Slam.

Ostapenko converted her third match point when Pliskova, who had 25 unforced errors, sent a forehand long and she will next meet Spaniard Paula Badosa who shocked former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

- Former runner-up Stephens crashes out of French Open -

Former Roland Garros runner-up Stephens was dumped out of the tournament when she lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to Badosa, 22, in the second round.

The American 29th seed, a finalist at French Open two years ago, was rarely in the mix on court 12, her comeback to one-set all proving to be a false dawn.

The result capped a miserable run on clay this season for the 2017 US Open winner, who entered the event on the back of first-round exits at the Italian Open and Strasbourg International.