US Open star invites Lil Wayne to Grand Slam after reaching the final | Tennis | Sport

Jelena Ostapenko sent Lil Wayne an open invitation after she reached the women's doubles final at the US Open.

The Latvian's partner for the tournament is Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine). In the semifinals, the duo beat Chan Hao-ching (Taiwan) and Veronika Kudermetova (Russia).

An exciting final against Zhang Shuai (China) and Kristina Mladenovic (France) awaits.

And if things work out for Ostapenko, five-time Grammy winner Lil Wayne could be watching at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This happened after Ostapenko invited the rapper to the final on Friday: “He actually didn't come to my singles [match],” she said at the US Open.

“There's still the doubles final, so maybe he'll come, we'll see. But I think the most important thing is to just enjoy it.”

This came after the two formed a bond in a highly unlikely encounter that began when Ostapenko saw the 41-year-old perform live in Miami.

Lil Wayne performed on Drake's “Big As the What” tour in the spring, where Ostapenko was in attendance.

But when Ostapenko spoke about the event weeks later, she told the Tennis Channel that she liked Lil Wayne much better than Drake: “Honestly, I liked the part of the concert where Lil Wayne performed much better.

“I don't know, I thought his vibe and his music was so beautiful. When Drake performed, I just stood there and didn't dance much. When Lil Wayne performed, I danced to every single song, even if I didn't know them.”

Notably, the musician responded to Ostapenko's praise, posting on his Instagram story for 19 million followers: “Thank you for da luv @jelena.ostapenko.”

A heated exchange ensued between the two, which ultimately ended with Lil Wayne announcing that he “had to come” to one of Ostapenko’s US Open matches.

He had little chance to see the 27-year-old in action in singles, as Naomi Osaka knocked the world number ten out of the competition in the first round.

But Lil Wayne will get another chance to see Ostapenko in action when she takes the court with Kichenok in the final on Friday.

Ostapenko has already won one Grand Slam singles title, winning the 2017 French Open, but the Riga-born star is now aiming for his first doubles title.

She came close earlier this year when she reached the final of the Australian Open with Kichenok, but then lost to Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan) and Elise Mertens (Belgium).