Caroline Wozniacki beats Halep to win 1st major at Aussie Open
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline
MELBOURNE  Australia â It took  Caroline Wozniacki  43 majors and two failed attempts in finals before finally claiming  her  first Grand Slam singles title.
One of the first things  she  did as a champion was apologize to top-seeded Simona Halep following  her  7-6 (2)  3-6  6-4 win in the Australian Open final on Saturday night.
"I'm sorry  I'm just taking a second to hug Daphne "  Wozniacki  said  pausing as  she  clutched the winner's trophy in the on-court ceremony. "I dreamt of this moment so many years  to be here now it's a dream come true."
More than seven years after appearing in  her  first Grand Slam final at the 2009 U.S. Open â a straight sets loss to Serena Williams  â Wozniacki  can finally erase the "but never won a major" footnote that has long been attached to  her  resume.
"I'm never going to get the question again about being a world No. 1 without a Slam "  she  said after leaving the court.
 Wozniacki  will regain the top ranking next week for the first time in six years â beating Serena Williams' record of 5 years  29 days between stints at No. 1 on the women's tour â in another benefit of beating the top-seeded Halep.
 Wozniacki  lost two U.S. Open finals â in '09 and 2014 â and Halep lost two French Open finals before their meeting at Melbourne Park.
 Caroline Wozniacki  plants a kiss on the Aussie Open trophy after defeating Simona Halep. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
In Halep's case   she  was the first player who had saved match points in multiple matches to have reached the final.  She  saved triple match point and rallied in the third set to beat Laura Davis 15-13 in the third set of  her  third-round match  and also needed to save match points in  her  semifinal against Angelique Kerber.
 Wozniacki  saved match points in  her  second-round win over Jana Fett and later said  she  was relaxed because for the rest of the tournament  she  was "playing with the house money."
"I know that today is a tough day "  Wozniacki  said to Halep. "I'm sorry I had to win today but I'm sure  we 'll have many matches in the future. Incredible match  incredible fight. And again  I'm sorry."
Halep was playing with an injured left ankle  needed treatment for dizziness in the second set and had rallied from a break down in the third set to lead 4-3 when  Wozniacki  took a medical time out to have  her  left knee taped. In the end   she  just ran out of steam.
"It's not easy to talk now " Halep said at the presentation. "It's been a great tournament for  me . I started not very well with the ankle injury. I just wanted to give my best every match  which I did. Of course I'm sad I couldn't win today but Caroline was better than  me .
 Wozniacki  is the third first-time major winner in the four Grand Slam tournaments since Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open for  her  record 23rd Grand Slam title. Serena Williams  who beat  her  older sister  Venus  in last year's final  took time out for  her  pregnancy and the birth of  her  first child in September  and is preparing to return to competition next month.
Wozniaki was ranked No. 1 for 67 weeks  including 49 straight from Feb. 21  2011 until Victoria Azarenka replaced  her  on Jan. 30  2012.
 Wozniacki  got a break in Halep's first service game and had a chance to serve for the first set at 5-3  but the Romanian rallied to break back and to force a tiebreaker. After getting an early jump in the tiebreaker   Wozniacki  won the last three points to win a set for the first time in a Grand Slam final.
MELBOURNE  Australia â It took  Caroline Wozniacki  43 majors and two failed attempts in finals before finally claiming  her  first Grand Slam singles title.
One of the first things  she  did as a champion was apologize to top-seeded Simona Halep following  her  7-6 (2)  3-6  6-4 win in the Australian Open final on Saturday night.
"I'm sorry  I'm just taking a second to hug Daphne "  Wozniacki  said  pausing as  she  clutched the winner's trophy in the on-court ceremony. "I dreamt of this moment so many years  to be here now it's a dream come true."
More than seven years after appearing in  her  first Grand Slam final at the 2009 U.S. Open â a straight sets loss to Serena Williams  â Wozniacki  can finally erase the "but never won a major" footnote that has long been attached to  her  resume.
"I'm never going to get the question again about being a world No. 1 without a Slam "  she  said after leaving the court.
 Wozniacki  will regain the top ranking next week for the first time in six years â beating Serena Williams' record of 5 years  29 days between stints at No. 1 on the women's tour â in another benefit of beating the top-seeded Halep.
 Wozniacki  lost two U.S. Open finals â in '09 and 2014 â and Halep lost two French Open finals before their meeting at Melbourne Park.
 Caroline Wozniacki  plants a kiss on the Aussie Open trophy after defeating Simona Halep. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
In Halep's case   she  was the first player who had saved match points in multiple matches to have reached the final.  She  saved triple match point and rallied in the third set to beat Laura Davis 15-13 in the third set of  her  third-round match  and also needed to save match points in  her  semifinal against Angelique Kerber.
 Wozniacki  saved match points in  her  second-round win over Jana Fett and later said  she  was relaxed because for the rest of the tournament  she  was "playing with the house money."
"I know that today is a tough day "  Wozniacki  said to Halep. "I'm sorry I had to win today but I'm sure  we 'll have many matches in the future. Incredible match  incredible fight. And again  I'm sorry."
Halep was playing with an injured left ankle  needed treatment for dizziness in the second set and had rallied from a break down in the third set to lead 4-3 when  Wozniacki  took a medical time out to have  her  left knee taped. In the end   she  just ran out of steam.
"It's not easy to talk now " Halep said at the presentation. "It's been a great tournament for  me . I started not very well with the ankle injury. I just wanted to give my best every match  which I did. Of course I'm sad I couldn't win today but Caroline was better than  me .
 Wozniacki  is the third first-time major winner in the four Grand Slam tournaments since Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open for  her  record 23rd Grand Slam title. Serena Williams  who beat  her  older sister  Venus  in last year's final  took time out for  her  pregnancy and the birth of  her  first child in September  and is preparing to return to competition next month.
Wozniaki was ranked No. 1 for 67 weeks  including 49 straight from Feb. 21  2011 until Victoria Azarenka replaced  her  on Jan. 30  2012.
 Wozniacki  got a break in Halep's first service game and had a chance to serve for the first set at 5-3  but the Romanian rallied to break back and to force a tiebreaker. After getting an early jump in the tiebreaker   Wozniacki  won the last three points to win a set for the first time in a Grand Slam final.