South Korea's Chung Hyeon (L) shakes hands with Switzerland's Roger Federer after Chung retired from their men's singles semi-finals match on day 12 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Friday. — AFP MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (AFP): Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki will each be trying to end a Grand Slam jinx when they lock horns in an Australian Open final Saturday between the world's two best players.
Both Halep and Wozniacki are in their third major final -- their first in Australia -- and both saved match points in earlier rounds to get there.
Defeat for Romanian world number one Halep would see her knocked off the top ranking by the Dane, currently number two.
Wozniacki, 27, has long carried the unwanted moniker of best player never to win a major, having reached the US Open final in 2009 and 2014, and first becoming number one in 2010.
She is in her 43rd Grand Slam appearance and with a win will regain the number one spot six years after last holding the position -- the longest gap between stints at the top since computerised rankings were introduced in 1975.
"I always believed in myself. I had a tough period where I had a few injuries," said the 27-year-old after reaching another major final with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) win over unseeded Elise Mertens.
Halep is in her 31st Grand Slam tournament after defeating former champion Angelique Kerber 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 in a thrilling semi-final. She made her only previous Grand Slam final appearances at Roland Garros in 2014 and 2017. The Romanian has only beaten Wozniacki twice in their six previous matches, the most recent meeting ending in a 6-0, 6-2 battering by the Dane at the 2017 WTA Finals in Singapore.
"The way she's playing, she's not missing," said Halep of Wozniacki. "She's running very well. So she's a strong opponent. I played many times. I won against her few times.
Meanwhile, Defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the Australian Open final after South Korea's Chung Hyeon retired injured in their semi-final on Friday.
The Swiss star was leading 6-1, 5-2 when Chung called it quits with foot blisters and will face Marin Cilic in Sunday's final.
Chung, the first South Korean man or woman to play in a semi-final at one of the four majors, was treated in a medical timeout for the left foot problem just two games earlier.
Line-up for the final at the Australian Open women's singles tennis tournament. —AFP
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