Another Grand Slam chance
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA» Caroline Wozniacki beat Elise Mertens 6-3. 7-6 (2) on Thursday to advance to her first Australian Open final and the third major final in her career.
The No. 2 seed is a two-time runner-up at the U.S. Open but has yet to win a Grand Slam title.
The Danish player also moved a step closer to regaining the No. 1 ranking. It has been six years since she last held the top spot and it would be the longest gap between stints at No. 1 since the rankings were introduced in 1975.
In the other semifinal, No. 1ranked Simona Halep played twotime major winner Angelique Kerber.
In men’s action Wednesday, Roger Federer, 36, became the oldest semifinalist in Melbourne in 41 years, beating longtime rival Tomas Berdych 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4.
He next will face 21-year-old Hyeon Chung, the first South Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and the youngest to reach the last four at a major since 2010.
Federer’s victory extended his winning streak to 14 in Australian Open quarterfinals and to nine in a personal rivalry with Berdych that dates to 2004. The 19-time major champion leads that head-to-head contest 20-6, including all five meetings at Melbourne Park.
Federer had to overcome a shaky start, dropping his opening service game and uncharacteristically questioning chair umpire Fergus Murphy because of a technological fault. With Berdych serving for the first set in the ninth game, Federer had challenged a line call.
After a lengthy delay, Murphy called the control room and confirmed the replay graphic couldn’t be displayed on the stadium screen, and also that the original decision stood. When he added that Federer had no challenges remaining for the set, Federer approached the chair and the crowd cheers intensified.
“Yeah, but you can’t steal my challenge,” Federer told Murphy. “Do you feel comfortable with this? You’re OK with it?”
Seven points later, he eventually broke Berdych to get back on serve, and then won the tiebreaker. The match was as good as over.
Chung beat 97th-ranked Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the afternoon match.