Martina Navratilova: Can Wozniacki handle pressure of Halep the aggressor?
Not many women get to play with house money in an Australian Open final, having survived match points earlier in the fortnight. Which is why Saturday evening will be such an astonishing match, as both finalists will have that rare experience, and I imagine that the freedom that comes with that will allow Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki
When you're match point down at a Grand Slam, anything can happen, so you certainly need some luck to survive - it's ridiculous that Halep has saved match points on two different occasions this fortnight, including in her outstanding semifinal against Angelique Kerber. When Halep was in trouble against Kerber, she just nailed it and went for winners; she stayed alive by being the aggressor. I'm sure both Halep and Wozniacki will be thankful that they have survived to live and fight another day. That feeling could help both on the Rod Laver Arena, with both seeking a first Grand Slam title and with the World No.1 ranking also on the line.
Whoever can shut out all the noise and keep her mind and eye on the ball, is going to achieve her Grand Slam breakthrough. I think both are mentally very strong and good at staying in the moment, but only one of them will go home happy.
There are strong parallels between Halep and Wozniacki, as both are appearing in a third Grand Slam final and a first at the Australian Open. Of the two, I would say Wozniacki is probably going to be under slightly more pressure. Halep probably came closer to winning her first Grand Slam finals - against Maria Sharapova at the 2014 French Open and against Jelena Ostapenko
In different times there are different priorities and pressures, and there's so much more emphasis on the majors now than there was when I was playing. Players today put so much pressure on themselves at the Slams but the pay-off is so much greater, both financially and emotionally. When I was competing, most players would have rather been number one than won a major, but players now would rather win a major than have that ranking. One thought to ease the pressure a little is that both will probably have future opportunities.
Most likely, it's going to be a matter of who can embrace it and think, 'This is exactly where I want to be,' and who can play to win rather than play carefully not to lose. If you're going to go down, you should go down swinging. And if you do go for it, you might not go down at all.
In my view, they both must go outside their comfort zones to win the title. They don't need to go for broke, but I would like to see them play aggressively. They are both very comfortable playing defensive tennis and they are sometimes too quick to retreat to that position. When things aren't going their way, they can both have a tendency to back away and wait for their opponents to make mistakes. They are both so physical and secure with their shots that we could have some really long rallies.
But I think they are going to take an aggressive approach as they can see that it's been working for them at this tournament. In the final set of her semifinal, Halep was about as aggressive as I've ever seen her, and that was great to watch. The book on her was that she always backed off when the chips are down and she didn't do that against Kerber. She should be really proud of that.
Both will be trying to get close to, or inside, the baseline. They have both improved their serves and have been using it more as a weapon - Wozniacki served lights-out during her semifinal. It will be interesting to see how they adjust to each other's game plan, and whether they figure out what they should be doing and what their opponent is doing. They both have their patterns and each will know how the other likes to play. So will they go against the patterns and try to outsmart the other one? Will they change tactics during the match? The strategy is going to be fascinating.
Elise Mertens
By her standards, Kerber had a terrible year in 2017 and would rather put that season behind her, and that was why it was great that she played to such a high level in Melbourne. Clearly, her new coach Wim Fissette is making a positive difference to her demeanour and attitude. I think she's made some technical changes to her serve, which is something that no one's really been talking about. It's no longer just about getting the ball into play- it's now a weapon.
Ultimately, though, Kerber couldn't quite beat Halep. So it will be Halep and Wozniacki in the final - and both will be playing with house money. May the better player walk away with the whole pot.
