The second seed won 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 in punishing conditions to finally land a major title at the 43rd attempt.

Nine years after her first Grand Slam final defeat, and 17 months after she was ranked 74th, the Dane was overcome.

“I dreamt of this moment for so many years, and to be here today is a dream come true,” said Wozniacki.

The victory means the 27-year-old will replace Halep as number one in the world rankings on Monday.

Twice a runner-up at the US Open, Wozniacki becomes the first Dane to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Halep, too, had been hoping to end the wait for a first major title to add to her number one ranking, but she has now lost in the Australian Open final as well as two French Opens.

“Of course I am sad but Caroline was better than me,” she said.

“I fight and have many years to go, so hopefully will face another challenge like today.”

The final might have been begun at 19:30 local time but conditions were brutal, with the temperature above 30C until well into the night and the humidity oppressive.

Both women had endured testing paths to the final, saving match points along the way, and at times looked on the point of exhaustion in a gripping final set.

Wozniacki deservedly took the opener in a tie-break, having let a 4-1 lead slip, and Halep appeared in trouble when she required treatment from the doctor midway through the second set.

However, after having her blood pressure taken, the Romanian returned to take three of the four next games, levelling at one set all with a forehand winner.

The heat rule was in effect should either player wish to use it, and Halep took the chance to halt proceedings for 10 minutes and allow both finalists to head off court in search of air-conditioning.

Halep had now spent over 13 hours on court during the tournament, while Wozniacki – who saved two match points against Jana Fett in round two – was approaching 12 hours.

The final set was a huge test of mind and body, and it produced some thrilling tennis.

After twice breaking serve to edge ahead, Wozniacki looked to have let another Grand Slam chance slip away when she fell a break down at 4-3 in the decider and needed treatment to a knee injury.

Instead, Wozniacki was the one who grabbed the moment, playing superbly in the final three games.

With Halep now serving to stay in the contest, Wozniacki’s brilliant defensive skills eventually forced an error on match point, leaving the Dane flat out and tearful on the Rod Laver Arena court.

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Source: BBC

The post Caroline Wozniacki beats Simona Halep to win first Grand Slam title appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The 19-year-old lost the first five games of her first major quarter-final before winning 4-6 6-2 6-2.

She will play Swiss 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky, who beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 6-4.

“I’m really happy, I can’t believe it,” world number 47 Ostapenko said.

Ostapenko will meet 27-year-old Bacsinszky in their semi-final on Thursday – when both players celebrate their birthdays.

The pair eventually won their quarter-final matches after torrential rain disrupted the first two women’s last-eight ties in Paris.

Two rain delays – totalling almost four hours – meant Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarter-finals were postponed until Wednesday.

Ostapenko is the first teenager to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals since Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic and the first to book a place in a Grand Slam semi-final since American Madison Keys at the 2015 US Open.

“It was tough because we had to go away two times from the court,” Ostapenko said.

“Caroline is a tough opponent, I knew I had to stay aggressive, I lost it sometimes but I found my game.”

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Source: BBC

The post French Open: Teenager shocks Caroline Wozniacki appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.