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Thoughts on the 2018 Aus Open Women's final

The 2018 Aus Open women's final pitted two top WTA players who have both been #1 and both been to two previous slam finals, but unsuccessfully.  At last, one of them would remove that stigma.  The match pitted the #1 seed against the #2 seed, for the first time in a women's slam final since Aus Open 2015 (at the French it's been since 2013, at Wimbledon since 2002, and the US Open since 2013).

Overall I thought it was a well-played match. Caroline came out solid and determined. It took Halep a while to find her rhythm, but when she did I felt that she was controlling the match. I felt she was playing more aggressively and the fate of the match was on her racket. After going down 1-4 in the first, the rest of the set was 5-3 for her (to make it 6-7). Then she took the second 6-3, then she was up a break 4-3 in the 3rd. All she had to do was keeping doing what she was doing... which was making a lot of winners and an uncharacteristic amount of errors. It is was what her new aggressive mentality dictated. Yes, she made more errors, but it meant she was in control. She was going after her forehand and forcing errors constantly. I saw Caroline very much as the counterpuncher for most of the match... the reactor. She was forced to become an opportunistic reactor, hitting winners only if the opportunity presented itself.

But with Halep up a break and serving at 4-3, Wozniacki took an injury time-out and it completely changed the match. She did not lose another game. I was astounded at how passively Halep played after that time out. She had been dictating all night (other than the first 5 games) but suddenly she stopped. She was looping the ball in with no power. Maybe she was tired or injured, both looked probable. But maybe it was a brain injury... What had got her to that point, up a break in the third, she suddenly stopped doing. She stopped going after her forehand, she stopped trying to be the aggressor, stopped controlling the match on her terms... and handed it to Wozniacki. Woz did well to close, but to me it looked like Halep collapsed in the last 3 games. Maybe the injury time out was enough to make her think... to worry... to start to play conservatively. Maybe it was smart from Caroline. Whatever the case, I was disappointed with the last three games from Halep, because up to that point I thought she deserved to win because she was controlling the play.

But in the end it was Woz who stayed calm, who stayed on course and who claimed the title. I am so pleased for Caroline to finally shake the slam monkey and join the pantheon of slam champions. She's now in the conversation about the best players. It adds a whole layer of credibility to her career. It's hard to say if it will unleash a slam-winning spree for her, now that the pressure is off. Probably not. Probably she will always struggle against more aggressive players. But she can hold her head high now in any company. Congrats to Caro!!

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