Grand slam drought can only end for one at Australian Open finals
Both Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep are seeking their first grand slam after years of being the Sergio Garcias of their sport.
There are so many similarities between Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep. They’ve both retained the top spot in women’s tennis without winning a slam title. They’ve made it to two finals of the same tournament — the French Open for Halep, as recent as last year, and the U.S. Open for Woz — with the Australian Open final serving as their third. But only one will walk away from Saturday’s match with the No. 1 ranking and a historic first grand slam title, while the other will live with a hat-trick of disappointment.
The win for the potential victor will feel like Sergio Garcia’s awesome moment at last year’s Masters tournament, when the talented golfer finally won his first major after 73 tries. Between Wozniacki and Halep, they have put in 76 main draw grand slam appearances (43 Woz, 33 Halep), and their reputations have taken a hit for an inability to close when they needed it. Caroline Wozniacki was famously referred to as “the best player who has never won a slam,” just like Garcia was called “the best player without a major.”
Woz silenced some of her critics at the end of last year, with her first WTA Finals title, beating the likes of Elina Svitolina, Halep, and Venus Williams along the way. Both Woz and Halep came back from two match points behind in Australia, although the Dane sailed through her semifinal against Elise Mertens more easily than Simona Halep did over Angelique Kerber, clocking in the first set 6-3 in just 39 minutes, with the second taking longer with a tie break 7-6(2).
The Romanian Simona Halep had a more difficult battle with two-time slam champ Angelique Kerber, one of the few players in the time of Serena Williams to beat the American legend, as she did two years ago in Australia. The opposite of Wozniacki and Halep, Kerber achieved her No. 1 ranking with her two grand slams, but slid downhill since then. She has been building herself back up since dipping down to No. 21, and after a remarkable 26-rally won point that left her sinking to her knees in relief, she lost her match point while Halep surprisingly beat her back to take the win, 6-3, 4-6, 9-7.
The match between Kerber and Halep was intense and suspenseful, not knowing which way it would go, with Halep winning the first, then Kerber swinging back in the second, but the Romanian fought hard to power back from match point down to clinch the victory. And she did it through the pain of an ankle injury.
“It definitely was very tough,” Halep said in her on-court interview. “I am shaking now, I am really emotional. She is a very tough opponent. I am really glad that I could resist and I could win this.
“I had two match balls and I lost them. I said if she can come back I can do it. I had confidence in myself. I decided after I hurt my ankle [in the opening-round match against Destanee Aiava] that I will fight till every point, I will go to the end, I will give everything in this tournament and then I will rest. So I will have a big rest after this tournament.”
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Simona Halep is 26, Caroline Wozniacki is 27. They are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. There’s a lot riding on the line for both players on Saturday to once-and-for-all silence their critics. Whoever wins will get to erase the grand slam mistakes from the past and feel fully confident that she deserves to be No. 1.
The Australian Open women’s final is on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3:30 a.m. ET live on the Tennis Channel.