Sports
Wozniacki now will face the winner of the match between Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber
Updated : Jan 25, 2018, 11:23 AM IST
Second seed Caroline Wozniacki came through a late wobble to reach the Australian Open final for a first time with a 6-3 7-6(2) victory over Belgian Elise Mertens on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
The Dane had dominated the match until she was 5-4 and 30-0 up as she served for the victory but suffered a bout of nerves which her 22-year-old opponent fully exploited to draw level.
"It means so much to me... I was serving for the match in 2011 and that was definitely on my mind."@CaroWozniacki pulls through! She's heading to her first #AusOpen final. pic.twitter.com/WvPlNswn5W
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2018
Wozniacki recovered her composure, though, and saved two set points before dominating the tiebreak to seal a title-decider on Saturday against either Simona Halep or Angelique Kerber.
Wozniacki, who has yet to win a grand slam title despite spending 67 weeks as world number one, sealed the victory and a place in her third major final when Mertens dumped a backhand into the net after 97 minutes.