Halep, Wozniacki Set Up Aussie Final Showdown

January 25, 2018 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo Credit: Clique Photography

 

Both Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki both advanced to the third major final of their careers on Thursday, but each did so in different fashions with contrasting semifinal matchups that saw Wozniacki through easy, while Halep battled through an epic match with former champion Angelique Kerber.

Wozniacki took on 22-year-old Elise Mertens of Belgium in the night’s first match, and while she was forced to dig in towards the end of the second set, the second-seeded Dane advanced through with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory.

“It means so much to me,” Wozniacki said of winning this semifinal. “I got really tight at 5-4. I was here in a semifinal in 2011 and had a match point against Li Na and lost it. That was on my mind today, I just tried to stay calm.”

She led 5-3 in the second set only to see Mertens win three straight games for a 6-5 lead. Wozniacki would force the tiebreaker and ultimately controlled play from there to push through in straight sets.

“I think it’s been a great two weeks so far,” reflected Wozniacki. “I’m really happy and proud of how I’ve managed to turn things around when things weren’t going my way and keep it up whenever it was going my way. I’m just excited. Regardless of what happens now, I’ve done my best, have everything to win.”

In one of the best tennis matches you will see all year, world number one the top-seeded Halep needed two hours and 20 minutes to defeat 2016 champion and the 21st seed Kerber 6-3, 4-6, 9-7.

“It was very tough, I am shaking now,” Halep told the Rod Laver Arena crowd immediately after her win. “She’s a very tough opponent, moving well and hitting from everywhere. It’s not easy winning two such long matches in the same tournament. I just had confidence in myself, I told myself to fight for every point and then rest afterwards. I tried to stay calm but today I was like a roller coaster. I didn’t give up though and, if you don’t give up, you can win matches. I am proud of myself.”

Even after they battled for two hard sets, things only got more interesting towards the end of the deciding third. Halep built a 5-3 advantage and would have a chance to serve for the match. But Kerber rattled off three straight games to go up 6-5 and gave herself an opportunity to serve for the match.

The German went up 40-15 on her serve but Halep saved match points, and a few games later, the Romanian was the one to close things out as a Kerber backhand sailed deep.

“I feel happy. I feel proud that I could stay there and fight till the end,” Halep added. “So it’s a nice feeling. I’m looking forward for the last match of this tournament.”

Wozniacki leads the head-to-head 4-2, with the latest encounter coming a few months ago at the WTA Finals in Sinagpore, a straight-sets win for Wozniacki. 

 

 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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