Ostapenko invites Lil' Wayne to the US Open doubles final

NEW YORK – Seventh-seeded Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmila Kichenok have advanced through the draw for the US Open, securing a place in their second major final of the season.

This means Lil' Wayne has another chance to see his favorite tennis player live.

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Earlier this year, Ostapenko gave an interview to the Tennis Channel and told the world that her favorite thing about a Drake concert was Lil' Wayne. The rapper posted the interview on his Instagram account and thanked the former French Open champion, saying, “Thank you for the love.”

Read: Is Lil' Wayne Ostapenko's biggest fan? Yes.

At Wimbledon, Ostapenko appeared on the Tennis Channel again and invited the rapper to attend one of her matches. The two exchanged messages and the Latvian invited him to the US Open, to which he eagerly replied: “I have to come over!”

Lil' Wayne has yet to show up at the USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center, but Ostapenko was happy to renew the standing invitation after securing a spot in Friday's final.

Ostapenko and Kichenok, who won in Brisbane and Eastbourne this season, entered the US Open as the No. 4 seeds in the PIF doubles race to reach the WTA Finals. They did not drop a set in the tournament and dropped just three games in the semifinals as they defeated No. 10 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Ostapenko and Kichenok will face unseeded duo Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai, who knocked out three of the top five seeds to reach the final. This will be the first team final for the two experienced Grand Slam winners.

Mladenovic is a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion and is looking to win her first in New York. Zhang is a two-time major winner and won the US Open trophy with Sam Stosur in 2021.

Mladenovic and Zhang opened their tournament with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 2 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens and have not looked back since. After defeating No. 5 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez in the quarterfinals, they defeated No. 3 seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the semifinals.