Simona Halep saved two match points as she battled past 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 6-3 4-6 9-7 to reach the Australian Open Final.
The world number one battled past the stubborn German in 2 hours and 22 minutes to reach her first Australian Open final.
Heading into the match both women were undefeated in 2018 and had different paths to the Semi-Finals. Halep saved two match points in her third round match with Lauren Davis and suffered an ankle injury scare earlier in the tournament. While Kerber was only taken to three sets once during the tournament as she eased past her opponents.
The Romanian took advantage of an exhausted looking Kerber in the first set as she raced into a 5-0 lead, breaking on three occasions. She had good depth on her forehand as the German didn’t have any energy to counter-attack Halep’s shots.
The German started to come back into the match at the back end of the set breaking twice before the World number one wrapped up the opening set in 26 minutes.
The second set was much improved from the German as she started to realize the quality of her opposition. Once the Romanian had broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set, Kerber started to use her backhands to dictate play and force Halep to defend. This resulted in a break back for Kerber and a more positive attitude. Some insane rallies were starting to go in the world number 16’s favour as she seized her opportunity in the ninth game to break Halep’s serve for a 5-4 lead before levelling the match at a set all.
What transpired next was one of the best sets of the entire tournament as both women were producing Tennis of the highest quality. Kerber and Halep exchanged breaks to start this marathon set as both Women demanded more from their coaches. The Romanian struck first as she broke in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. However that was quickly cancelled out by the German she won one of the rallies of the tournament, as you can see below:
"Wow! Where did she find that from?"
Sheer brilliance from Kerber!#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/nwP9BcfmqT
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 25, 2018
The 2016 champion then saved two match points before breaking Halep to try and serve for the match at 6-5. However Halep was determined to win her first grand slam title this week and saved two match points of her own before breaking back.
The match now came down to who was more exhausted and who would blink first and it would be the former Champion who would do so as a misfiring backhand went long and sealed a hard fought victory for Halep.
The world number one has once again battled hard to see her grand slam dream remain alive while for Kerber she suffers her first defeat of the season in the most heart breaking of circumstances.
The Romanian expressed her emotions after the match, “It was very tough. I’m shaking, I’m emotional. I knew it was going to be tough. She’s a tough opponent who is moving well and hitting from everywhere. I want to thank everyone for supporting me and helping me.”
So Simona Halep will now play Caroline Wozniacki in an exhilarating Australian Open Final on Saturday, with the World Number one and a first grand slam title at stake.
