Halep in shock after victory
LONDON: Simona Halep admitted she did not know how she made it into Saturday’s final after surviving a three-set thriller against Angelique Kerber.
The world No. 1 saved two match points before battling past the German to win 6-3, 4-6, 9-7. And the Romanian revealed she was not sure how she managed to win the epic encounter.
“Definitely was very tough. I’m shaking now,” said Halep, who saved the match points at 5-6 on Kerber’s serve in the third set. LONDON: Caroline Wozniacki is confident she has the game to land her first Grand Slam title.
The world No. 2 was speaking after she beat the unseeded Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-6 to set up a clash against Romanian top seed Simona Halep tomorrow. Having been in two Grand Slam finals, losing both, Wozniacki revealed she never gave up on herself or her Grand
Slam-title dream.
“It means so much to me,” the
Dane said after reaching her first major final since the 2014
US Open.
“I always believed in myself. I had a tough period where I had a few injuries,” said the 27-year-old, who slid down the rankings to 19th at the end of 2016.
“I don’t remember, but I didn’t think about the score. I just took it point by point. I had actually two moments when I felt that the match was over,” she said.
“I had no power anymore and everything is gone. I didn’t give up, which meant a lot, and that’s how I won the match.”
In a see-sawing contest, Halep sprinted into a 6-3, 3-1 lead before the 2016 Australian Open winner Kerber, seeded 21, fought back.
The Romanian dug deep, showed just the sort of grit and determination needed to win a Grand Slam and “That was kind of hard and tough mentally. But once I got past that, I knew that if I can stay healthy and I work hard, my game is good enough for it.”
Her hard work was rewarded with a renaissance in 2017, reaching eight finals — winning in Tokyo and at the season-ending WTA Finals.
“I think if you don’t feel like you can go all the way in tournaments, then to me there’s no sense in playing. I want to be competitive. I want to be the best and that’s why I’m still playing,” she said. If Wozniacki wins the final she will regain the No. 1 spot six years after last holding the position — the longest gap between stints at the top since computerised rankings were introduced in 1975. finally prevailed in two hours 20 minutes. Halep will now face Caroline Wozniacki to ensure the women’s game has a new Grand Slam champion.
“I tried to be calm today. It was a rollercoaster, up and down,” said Halep. “If you don’t give up you can win. I did it well. I am proud of myself.”
For Kerber defeat was hard to take. However, having suffered a slump last year that saw her plunge down the rankings from being world No. 1 at the start of 2017, she was able to see the positive side of her run to the last four in Melbourne. “I know that I’m back,” she said.
“I know that I can play good tennis again in front of amazing crowds and play tough matches, winning also matches where I’m down and fighting until the last point.
“For me, the most important thing is that I’m again on court, and I’m fighting.
“I gave my heart there. I really enjoyed every single moment.
“You have to play your best every single day. I think that’s what I did it every single day here when I was here in Australia.”