Peyton Stearns, NCAA champ for Texas, beats Jelena Ostapenko, 2017 champ at French Open

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

PARIS (AP) — Peyton Stearns is playing in the French Open for the first time and now the 21-year-old American is into the third round after knocking off 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko. A 2022 NCAA champion for the University of Texas, Stearns used her big forehand to put together the 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory on Wednesday. That leaves just one past Roland Garros champion in the women’s field. The 17th-seeded Ostapenko’s exit is also part of a series of early losses by seeded women that also included No. 5 Caroline Garcia’s departure on Wednesday. More than half of the seeds already are out of the bracket. That’s in addition to the No. 2 man, Daniil Medvedev.