By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Match points had come and gone as spiking skittishness gave way to déjà vu doubt in Caroline Wozniacki’s mind.
Surrendering 10 straight points, Wozniacki’s mind drifted back to the 2011 semifinals when she squandered a match point and bowed to Li Na.
More: Serena Calls Out Sandgren
On this day, Wozniacki was in no mood for near misses.
Wozniacki faltered serving for the final, but regained focus in the tie break firing into her first Australian Open final with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) conquest of Elise Mertens.
“It means so much to me," Wozniacki told Rennae Stubbs afterward. "I got really tight at 5-4, a couple of double faults. I thought after the first two good serves, I was like calm down it’s all good. And then it wasn’t good. I kind of felt I was hitting against the wall.
"I was here in the semifinals in 2011 and I was serving for the match against Li Na and I had a match point and I lost it. That was definitely on my mind today. I just tried to stay calm and I was lucky to get the win."
It is the third Grand Slam final for the 27-year-old Dane, who was US Open runner-up in both 2009 and 2014.
Contesting her 43rd career Grand Slam tournament, Wozniacki now stands one win from capturing her first Grand Slam title—and regaining the world No. 1 ranking she held for 67 weeks. The world No. 2 will face either Simona Halep or 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s final.
If world No. 1 Halep bows to Kerber in today’s second semifinal or if Wozniacki tops Halep in the final she will return to No. 1 a full six years after she rose to the top spot, which would be the longest gap at stints at the top since the computer rankings were introduced in November, 1975.
Determined to get off first in baseline exchanges today, Wozniacki successfully straddled the line between offense and defense against the first-time major semifinalist.
Wozniacki is quicker around the court and cracked authoritative crosscourt shots to keep the heavier-hitting Mertens from setting her feet. Rallying from love-30 down Wozniacki reeled off four straight points to hold then exploited a slew of errors to earn the first break for 3-1.
The Dane’s two-handed backhand is her kill shot; her forehand can vary based on her confidence. Striking the forehand with conviction, Wozniacki resisted a break point, slashed a forehand down the line and capped a comeback hold for 4-1.
Straddling the baseline, Mertens kept taking her cracks. She saved a set point in the eighth game, swatting an ace to hold for 3-5.
Oppressive court coverage by the former No. 1 had Mertens pressing to find open court space. The 37th-ranked Belgian staved off a pair of break points and navigated the pressure with a pair of big serves to open the second set with a hold.
Consistent ball-control combinations from Wozniacki prompted Mertens to play flatter and try to squeeze shots down the line. Instead, she smacked successive down the line drives into net as Wozniacki broke for 3-2.
Stepping up to serve for her third career Grand Slam final, Wozniacki was up 30-0 and had dropped just one point on serve in the set when she missed the mark with a forehand down the line. That opened the door for self-doubt and a Mertens comeback.
Capping a 16-shot rally stroking a clean forehand pass, Mertens gained break point. Wozniacki, who had been so strong on serve all day, spit up her second double fault gifting the break after blowing a 30-love lead.
Empowered, Mertens blasted her first ace of the set down the middle and when Wozniacki jerked a wild forehand return wide, the 22-year-old Belgian burst through a love hold for 6-5.
Mentally accepting the second set was likely gone, helped Wozniacki swing freely and avoid a third set.
“Normally I am really calm,” Wozniacki said. “Once I started to feel really nervous and felt like my legs were shaking a little bit, I was like this isn’t normal, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now.
"I just took a few deep breaths. Once she had set points, I said okay guess it’s the third set. I guess now you just need to go for it.”
Hammering heavy forehands, Mertens earned double set point. Wozniacki crunched a crosscourt backhand to save the first and slashed a forehand winner to deny the second. Keeping calm through a 14-point game, Wozniacki cracked a forehand crosscourt to force the tie break with a firm “come on.”
Strong serving and stubborn baseline play helped Wozniacki work through the tie break. Sliding a wide serve, she sprung out to a 3-0 lead and when Mertens flailed a wild forehand return Wozniacki was up 5-2. A backhand down the line brought her four more match points.
Wozniacki needed just one, closing in one hour, 37 minutes.
While Wozniacki hasn't had to beat a Top 20 opponent en route to the final, she's shown strong survival skills. Wozniacki fought off a pair of match points and a 1-5 deficit in the decider surging through six straight games to rally past No.119 Jana Fett in the second round. She's dropped only one set since staving off elimination.