PARIS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Jelena Ostapenko felt great about her new status of Grand Slam champion following her success one year ago at Roland Garros.
"When I won it last year, I realized maybe a couple of months after that, I had to get used to this new status that I'm a Grand Slam champion. Now this feeling is great," said the Latvian at a press conference here on Friday.
Ostapenko rose to fame last year in Paris, where she lifted the trophy while unseeded, including her comeback in the final against Simona Halep.
"I don't think about anything in the matches. I was just trying to play my game and after a tough match against Sam, then I played against Caroline from a set down, I got my confidence and was just enjoying and playing my game," Ostapenko recalled.
For Ostapenko, Roland Garros is a special place with great memories.
"Actually when I came, I practiced yesterday for the first day because I arrived on Wednesday, and I felt really good to be back here.
"I had some good results on clay and some good wins. Just looking forward to my first match here," she said.
Ostapenko's Grand Slam title was no other than huge boost for tennis' development back in her country.
"Since I won the French Open, many kids are coming to tennis clubs, and clubs are always fully booked. That's great to see some young kids start to play tennis," she said.
Ostapenko will kick off her title defense against Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine, with former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka her potential opponent in the second round.
