Halep, Wozniacki after first Slam title
Saturday’s winner also will be ranked No. 1 in world.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — For the second time in the tournament, Simona Halep faced match points and knew one mistake would mean an exit from the Australian Open and the likely loss of her No. 1 ranking.
For the second time in just over a week, she attacked rather than take the safe approach. The 26-year-old Romanian saved two match points and needed four of her own against 2016 champion Angelique Kerber before clinching a engrossing 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 semifinal win.
Halep will face No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki in the final Saturday, with one of them guaranteed to win a first Grand Slam title. The winner will also be No. 1 when the new rankings are released next week. Wozniacki, who beat Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-6 (2) in 1½ hours in the first semifinal, hasn’t held the top ranking for six years.
For Halep, it’s a first major final beyond the clay courts of Roland Garros. She lost the French Open final to Jelena Ostapenko last year — having led by a set and a break — and to Maria Sharapova in 2014.
For Wozniacki, it’s her first Grand Slam final outside of America. The two-time U.S. Open runner-up also had to save match points to reach her first Australian Open final. She rallied from 5-1 down in the third set of her second-round win and said she’s been “playing with the house money” ever since.
Previous Australian Open winners have saved match points en route to the final — including Kerber in 2016 — but no woman has done it twice.
Halep is hoping to change that, saying that saving triple match point in her thirdround win against Lauren Davis that finished 15-13 in the third set had set her up mentally for the pressure of the semifinals.
Wozniacki appeared to be coasting, getting breaks in the middle of each set of her semifinal match, but got tight when she was serving for the match at 5-4. From 30-15, she double-faulted twice and Mertens passed her with a forehand winner to level the set at 5-5.
The No. 37-ranked Mertens, who reached the semifinals on her Australian Open debut, then lifted her intensity. She had two set points before Wozniacki eventually held in a service game lasting 8½ minutes to force a tiebreaker.
Men: Defending champion Roger Federer faces South Korea’s Hyeon Chung today for a berth opposite Marin Cilic in Sunday’s final.
With his 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-2 semifinal win over 49th-ranked Kyle Edmund, Cilic became only the second man from outside the “Big Four” to reach the final at season-opening major in a decade.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have dominated the men’s finals since 2009, with only 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka breaking the quartet’s court occupation in the championship match.
The 29-year-old Cilic, the first Croatian to make the final at Melbourne Park, could face the founding member of the “Big Four” in the final on Sunday. Cilic lost to Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final, where he was injured and struggling at the end. This time, he has held off No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta and top-ranked Rafael Nadal and thinks, with two days to rest before the final, he’ll be in better shape.
It’ll be a third major final for Cilic, who beat Federer in the semifinals at the 2014 U.S. Open before going on to win his breakthrough Grand Slam title.
Wednesday’s Games Thursday’s Games
Kings 89, (at) Heat 88: De’Aaron Fox’s rebound dunk with three seconds left capped Sacramento’s comeback from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Kings outscored the Heat 17-4 in the final 5:46, winning in Miami for the first time since 2001. Buddy Hield scored 24 points for Sacramento.
(At) Thunder 121, Wizards 112: Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 46 points in Oklahoma City’s sixth straight victory. Westbrook made 19 of 29 field goals in one of his most efficient shooting performances of the season. Paul George added 18 points for the Thunder.
Knicks at Nuggets: Late
Timberwolves at Warriors: Late
NBA notes
Warriors: Kevin Durant was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his comments about referee James Williams. Durant criticized Williams after he was ejected during the closing minutes of Golden State’s 123-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.