The women’s draw of the Australian Open was billed as the most open one of all time but despite some shocks along the way we are left with the top two in the world rankings when Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki battle it out in the final of the opening Grand Slam of the year on Saturday.
The pair go into the final in Melbourne looking for their maiden Grand Slam titles and one of them will finally lose their 0 when he comes to major successes. They could both be forced to work hard before one of them gets their hands on the coveted silverware though.
Simona Halep
The world number one is into her third Grand Slam final but she has been made to work incredibly hard to get here. She was on court for three hours and 44 minutes in the third round when winning 15-13 in the deciding set against Lauren Davis and her semi-final saw her beat Angelique Kerber 9-7 in the decider in two hours and 20 minutes. It would be no surprise if she was fatigued.
That said Halep did thrash Karolina Pliskova in the quarter final so the quality of her tennis has been unrelenting. One concern for Halep fans and followers could be her record in Slam finals. This will be her first final away from the French Open but she has played two and lost two and in the Roland Garros final last year she would have been an emphatic favourite.
Caroline Wozniacki
The WTA Finals champion Caroline Wozniacki has made her way into the final relatively serenely with the exception of one match in the first week of the tournament. She had to come from the clouds to beat Jana Fett in the second round but since then she has dropped just one set and has been in top form.
Wozniacki also has a little bit of scar tissue in the big finals. She has been beaten in a couple of US Open finals but she lost to Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams in matches she would have been a significant underdog in. She arguably has never been as aggressive in her play as she has been in recent times which bodes well for her.
Head to Head
These two have met on six previous occasions in the past with Wozniacki holding a 4-2 lead overall having won the previous three matches. Their latest meeting was in the WTA Finals at the end of last season which Wozniacki won 6-0 6-2 but their three previous battles had all gone the distance. They are 2-2 on hard courts.
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Betting
I am not going to bet on this final as I am already on Caroline Wozniacki to win at 10/1 having backed her outright before the tournament began but if I was not already on her then I would be backing her here as the value play if nothing else.
It is hard to see this final not being a physically gruelling battle and that may well play into the hands of the fresher Wozniacki. I think she has been more aggressive in this tournament than previously and that really bodes well too. The longer it goes the more I favour Wozniacki but having already backed her I don’t need to go in again.
Tips
No Bet
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