“I think both of us were very exhausted in the end”, said Wozniacki, 27, who recorded her fifth – and most important – victory against Halep in seven career meetings. Our tennis columnist, Dan Weston, previews the final. It was a hard fought contest for both players, in Wozniacki’s case, she needed strapping on her leg late in the third set to play on.
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The current world No.1 and top seed said: “It’s nice that it’s happening”.
“I’ve had matches where I’ve been down match points and I’ve won them, and you learn something from that”. It’s a nice feeling and I’m looking forward to the last match of this tournament. This is unarguably true – indeed, since 2005 there have been 16 world number ones, and 19 different Grand Slam winners, as well as three instances in which first-time finalists have faced off against each other in Grand Slams.
The Dane, 27, beat Simona Halep 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 in Melbourne to finally land a major title at the 43rd attempt. “I am going to try and do my best to win it”. Another epic game followed, and this time after 12 minutes, it ended in an unfortunate way as Wozniacki threw in a double-fault on Halep’s sixth break point.
The key lesson both women have learned in their years of knocking on the door is that grand slam titles have to be won with bravery and belief.
Halep: “Well, I’m feeling ok”. I feel that I can face any challenge. I slept a lot. From a year ago to today I’m so proud my friend so proud. “Without your support – I was a nervous wreck this morning, I wanted to win so badly but you calmed me down and helped me enjoy this moment so thank you so much for being here and having this special moment with me”. “I can win against anyone”.
“Regardless, I think I’ve had an incredible career”.
The Dane was without a run to a final of a Slam since that defeat to Williams, and her ranking dipped as low as 74 in 2016. I think it’s awesome.
If it’s good enough for the GOAT, it’s good enough for us. Failure to close out points while on the offense backfired in the cruelest way ever – and consecutive errors gifted Wozniacki her maiden Grand Slam title alongside the number one ranking. I still stick with these predictions based on what I have seen this tournament.
Top seed Halep, who survived two more match points in an extraordinary final set against Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals, fended off four break-point chances for Wozniacki in the third game of second set.
“I’m never going to have to answer that question again”, she told reporters later, with a glass of Champagne and Daphne by her side.
As she did in the first set, Wozniacki started brightly, leading 2-0 before another marathon game.
Wozniacki has won their last three.
An increasingly deflated Pliskova eventually stopped the rot but with Halep offering precious little in the way of cheap points, the result soon became a formality.
Both have improved the offensive parts of their game, with Wozniacki serving faster and hitting her forehand harder than a year ago.
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Where is Simona Halep vs Caroline Wozniacki taking place? . I played many times, yeah, like you said.
