On this day in 2018 – Caroline Wozniacki ends long wait for grand slam title

Caroline Wozniacki won the Australian Open with victory over Simona Halep on this day in 2018.

Wozniacki secured a 7-6 (7/2) 3-6 6-4 triumph to claim her first grand slam title in her 43rd attempt.

A teenage prodigy, Wozniacki’s career had been a story of perseverance, with only three players taking longer to win their first major crown.

But nearly a decade after she reached the first of two finals at the US Open, the 27-year-old could finally call herself a grand slam champion.

Wozniacki’s triumph saw her take over from Halep as world number one exactly six years after she last topped the rankings.

She said: “Obviously that’s very special. I think being a new grand slam champion and world number one sounds pretty good. I’m very excited for that. It’s a dream come true.”

Wozniacki reached her first grand slam final at the US Open in 2009 and another in New York in 2014 but lost first to Kim Clijsters and then Serena Williams.

In August 2016, she was ranked down at 74 but a run to the semi-finals in Flushing Meadows put her back in the top 30.

She said: “I’d been through a lot of injuries at that point. Then you start losing to some players who you’re not really thinking you should lose to. It’s frustrating.

“I was hoping eventually it was going to turn around. I made the semi-finals of the US Open. Since then I’ve been playing really consistent and really well.

“Being here tonight as a grand slam champion, Australian Open champion, it’s very special.”

Wozniacki retired in January 2020, aged 29, without adding to her grand slam tally. She commentated for the BBC at last summer’s Wimbledon Championships.