MELBOURNE: An emotional Caroline Wozniacki finally lifted her first Grand Slam title at the 43rd attempt as she beat Simona Halep in three energy-sapping sets to win the Australian Open on Saturday.
The Dane, who will become the new world number one, burst into tears as she secured the championship 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4 against the battling Romanian top seed on her first match point of a gruelling, epic encounter.
"I've dreamt of this moment for so many years," said second seeded Wozniacki after becoming the first player from Denmark to win a Grand Slam.
"My voice is shaking. I never cry, but this is a very emotional moment.
"I want to congratulate Simona, I know it's a tough day," she added after receiving the trophy from Billie Jean King.
"I'm sorry that I had to win today but I'm sure we'll have many matches in the future and it was an incredible match and an incredible fight and again, I'm sorry."
Wozniacki, 27, had to overcome bouts of nerves throughout the long match. She wobbled when serving for the first set at 5-3 and had to come through a tiebreak.
"I want to thank my fiance," she said, looking up to American basketball player David Lee in her box. "I was a nervous wreck this morning, I wanted to win so bad, but you calmed me down."
Both players needed medical attention on court before the Dane prevailed in 2hr 49min on Rod Laver Arena.
For Wozniacki, victory meant shedding at last the unwanted moniker of best player never to win a major, having reached the US Open final in 2009 and 2014, and first becoming number one in 2010.
For Halep, who surrendered her number one status to Wozniacki in defeat, the wait goes on.
"It's not easy to talk now but first of all I want to congratulate Caroline," said Halep, who was also appearing in her third Grand Slam final and first in Australia.
"She played amazing. It's been a great tournament for me. Of course I'm sad I couldn't win today but Caroline was better than me.
"But I will fight and hopefully I will face another challenge like I did today. I'm sad that I couldn't make it the third time, but maybe the fourth time will be with luck."
Wozniacki started the stronger, breaking Halep's opening service game with the early evening temperature still above 30 Celsius (86 Farenheit) before racing into a 3-0 lead.
She had not won a set in either of her previous two Grand Slam final appearances and tightened visibly serving for this one, and the set headed for a tiebreak.
The Dane went 4-1 up before a second mini-break and two solid serves gave her the tiebreak 7-2.
Wozniacki was growing in confidence and Halep needed to save four break points at 1-1 in the second set in a brutal game that lasted 11 minutes.
Soon after Halep signalled to her coach Darren Cahill that she wasn't feeling well and there were worrying scenes as she had her blood pressure taken and an ice towel applied in the next changeover.
She re-emerged with her energy drained and needed the luckiest of net cords to hold for 4-3.
Cramping, she decided to stand and deliver in the next game, keeping the points short.
Incredibly the tactic paid off as she broke Wozniacki with a ripping drive up the line to level the match.
The tournament's extreme heat policy was invoked meaning the players took a 10-minute break before the start of the third set.
When they resumed neither of them could hold their serve until Wozniacki, after having a timeout to have her left knee strapped, held for 5-4 to force Halep to serve to stay in the match.
She couldn't manage it and a backhand into the net brought an end to her brave challenge.
'Emotional' Caroline Wozniacki beats Simona Halep to win first Grand Slam at Australian Open
'Emotional' Caroline Wozniacki beats Simona Halep to win first Grand Slam at Australian Open
Al-Hilal win tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- The 3-2 victory over Al-Khaleej leaves Al-Hilal a single point behind Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, who play on Saturday
DUBAI: The gap at the top of the Saudi Pro League table was cut to just one point on Friday night, following Al-Hilal’s 3-2 win over Al-Khaleej.
Simone Inzaghi’s team leapfrogged Al-Taawoun into second place to remain the closest challengers to Al-Nassr in the title fight, with the leaders set to host Al-Okhdood on Saturday.
Al-Hilal opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Mohammed Kanno met Hamad Al-Yami’s lay-off on the edge of the penalty area, his long-range shot beating Al-Khaleej goalkeeper Anthony Moris at his left-hand post.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic doubled the lead on 39 from Malcom’s assist to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb in the second half. Al-Hilal looked to have secured all three points comfortably when Malcom made it 3-0 on 57 minutes, but Al-Khaleej had other ideas.
Joshua King’s goal on 79 minutes looked to be nothing more than a consolation, but five minutes later Al-Hilal were left sweating after Giorgos Masouras cut their lead to a single goal. The visitors’ revival was short-lived, however, with no more additions to the score.
The defeat leaves Al-Khaleej in eighth place, with three matches still to be played on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Al-Taawoun briefly climbed to second place in the table after an away win against Al-Kholood at Al-Hazem Stadium. Their goals came from Christopher Zambrano after 22 minutes and a William Troost-Ekong’s own goal in the 75th; Al-Taawoun ended the match with 10 men after Muteb Al-Mufarrij was sent off in stoppage time, but the three points were already secured.
Al-Hilal’s win later in the day meant Al-Taawoun dropped to third, while Al-Kholood sit in 12th.
The first match of the day saw Al-Fateh shock reigning Asian champions Al-Ahli with a 2-1 win, after falling behind at home to Valentin Atangana’s 22nd-minute goal. However, the home team turned the match around with two goals from Maria Vargas either side of half time.
The win saw Al-Fateh rise to 14th while Al-Ahli stayed in fourth.
