Hugs all round as Wozniacki completes return from wilderness

MELBOURNE (Reuters): No wonder Caroline Wozniacki could not stop hugging the trophy she referred to affectionately as ‘Daphne’ on Saturday after outlasting Simona Halep to win the Australian Open title.

It was an embrace with grand slam silverware, in this case the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, that had been a long time coming and the 27-year-old was going to enjoy it.

As “Sweet Caroline” blared out of the sound system on a sweltering Rod Laver Arena, Wozniacki paraded around the blue hardcourt with a smile that spoke a 1,000 words.

Not only was she celebrating a first grand slam title at the 43rd time of asking (only three players have taken longer), she also toppled Halep from the top of the WTA rankings, six years after relinquishing her 67-week hold on the top spot.

Her previous stint in that eminent position had always felt hollow because she never rubber-stamped it with a major.

This time, however, there can be no doubting that she deserves the title of the world’s best female tennis player.

“I‘m never going to have to answer that question again,” she told reporters later, with a glass of Champagne and Daphne by her side. “Now they’ll ask me when I’ll get the second one.”

Close friend, 23-times grand slam champion Serena Williams, who is preparing to return after having a baby, was one of the first to congratulate Wozniacki on her overdue title.

“I got too nervous to watch but woke up to @CaroWozniacki new number one and Aussie open champ. So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are. From a year ago to today I‘m so proud my friend so proud,” the American said on Twitter.

The previous six years have witnessed much heartache for the blonde Dane who has been coached by her father Piotr, a former professional footballer, since the age of seven.

Not just on the court either.

There was a U.S. Open final loss to Serena Williams in 2014, five years after a teenaged Wozniacki fell to Kim Clijsters there in her first grand slam final.

Titles on the WTA Tour slowed to a trickle and a spate of early losses in the grand slams saw her ranking slide down to a lowly 74th in the summer of 2016.

“At that point you’re thinking is it really worth it to keep going,” Wozniacki told Channel Seven after her battling 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 victory in Saturday’s Melbourne sweat-fest.

There was also the emotional body blow of a high-profile split with former world number one golfer Rory McIlroy who she was due to marry in 2014.

Wozniacki did return to the top 20 by the end of 2016, thanks to a run to the U.S. Open semi-finals.

But her steady, safety-first brand of tennis had begun to look obsolete, especially in a world of fearless big hitters like Jelena Ostapenko who bundled her out of last year’s French Open at the quarter-final stage.

Less than a year later Wozniacki’s dogged professionalism has paid dividends and with new fiance, former NBA star David Lee, leading the applause on Rod Laver Arena on a memorable night for Danish tennis, life could not be better.

She might even get to realise another one of her dreams.

“Maybe I’ll get that Elle (magazine) cover,” part-time model Wozniacki said on court as her agent watched on.

“I didn’t want to think about winning,” says champion Wozniacki

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Caroline Wozniacki said she stopped herself thinking about what it would feel like to win a first grand slam title in case Saturday’s Australian Open final against Simona Halep did not go to plan.

Wozniacki finally added her name to the grand slam winners’ list at the 43rd time of asking after outlasting Halep 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 on a sweltering Rod Laver Arena, becoming the first Dane to win one of tennis’s four biggest prizes.

Not only that but her triumph lifted her back to the top of the world rankings for the first time in six years – a period during which life had thrown her several “curve balls”.

“I didn’t want to think too much about how it would feel to win before the match because that’s like in case I don’t, it’s going to hurt even more,” the 27-year-old, less than two years after being ranked in the 70s after a career slide, told reporters with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup at her side.

“But now I’m just so happy to have the trophy. As athletes we don’t enjoy the moments very long and I want to enjoy this one because it’s very special. I’m a grand slam champion, and that still seems crazy to say, but I’m also back to number one. I couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

After two U.S. Open final defeats, many thought Wozniacki might never get another chance to win a grand slam, let alone return to the top of the WTA standings.

“Lots of ups and downs. But one thing that remained consistent was my fighting spirit and never giving up,” Wozniacki, who now holds the record for length of time between stints at world number one, said.

“Life sometimes throws curve balls at you and you have to deal with it. Tonight is such a special moment.”

The fact that she could share that moment with her father Piotr, her coach since she was seven, added to the occasion.

“My dad has been there from the start and we took the journey together,” she said. “To have him in my corner on a night like tonight, holding the trophy and sharing this means a lot.”

Wozniacki trailed 4-3 in a see-sawing final set in which both players seemed close to exhaustion.

But she found some last reserves of energy to reel off three games and leave Halep sucking up a third grand slam final loss.

“I obviously feel very sad for her, but at the same time I’m very happy for myself,” she said.