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
Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held
- Arsenal end Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak
- Wolves earn third point of season against Man United
LONDON: Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.
Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later. Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
“I think it was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality.”
Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.
Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.
It took six minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalized from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. Chelsea sit fifth, while Bournemouth are 10 spots below them.
Man Utd struggle
Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving the depleted hosts the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
But Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Patrick Dorgu briefly celebrated what he thought was a 90th-minute winner, but it was chalked off for offside.
“We struggled in all the game,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We had a lack of creation... the fluidity offensively wasn’t there.
“We didn’t play well. When you don’t play well with the ball, you struggle without it.”
Wolves have three points from 19 games, 15 points from the safety zone.
Newcastle United’s Joelinton scored after 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa doubled their lead five minutes later in a 3-1 thrashing of 19th-placed Burnley, who are winless in their last 10 games.
Josh Laurent pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s rare away win with a goal in stoppage time.
Everton climbed to eighth in the standings with a 2-0 win over their former manager Sean Dyche and Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that featured three penalties in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, from the penalty spot, scored before the break for West Ham, while Brighton’s Danny Welbeck struck from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but fired another off the crossbar.
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton in the 61st minute to secure the draw.
There are four more games on New Year’s Day, including fourth-placed Liverpool hosting Leeds United at Anfield.
