Caroline Wozniacki will contest her first Australian Open final after banishing her demons

SEVEN years ago Caroline Wozniacki lost in the Australian Open semi-final after serving for the match and she nearly suffered the same fate before advancing to her first Australian Open final.

Caroline Wozniacki celebrates her win over Elise Mertens in the semi-final. Picture: AAP

THERE was a steely resolve to this one.

Caroline Wozniacki wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Seven years after dropping a match point against Li Na and falling short in the semi-final, the Danish world No.2 is through to her first Australian Open final.

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Wozniacki defeated Belgian Elise Mertens 6-3 7-6.

And it was sweet.

“It means so much to me,” she said.

“I got really tight at 5-4 … I thought after the first two good serves I was like ‘calm down its all good’. It wasn’t good anymore.”

Wozniacki had admitted this week that the loss to Na still haunted her — a match in which she won the first set 6-3 and served for it at 5-4 in the second before the Chinese star surged.

The similarities to that match here were eerie.

Caroline Wozniacki powered her way into the Australian Open final after a straight sets win over Elise Mertens. Picture: Getty Images

There were eerie similarities to her 2011 semi-final loss to Li Na, with the Dane serving for the match at 6-3 5-4 in that match and also here, when she was broken by Mertens and forced to a tiebreak.

That match seven years ago crossed her mind – how could it not?

“It was definitely (eerie) … I think I was nervous,” she said.

“All of a sudden, it just turned around (against me).

“But I managed to just gather myself and thankfully closed it out in the end.”

In the tiebreak, that resolve stirred and she won it 7-2 with a shriek on completion.

After facing two match points in the second round of the Australian Open, Wozniacki is into her third grand slam final.

Again, she made the point that everything from her near miss “was a plus”.

“At the end of the day, I think I’ve said it before, I was obviously down 5-1 and 40-15 (against Jana Fett), almost out,” Wozniacki said.

“But I think once you get past that, you’re basically playing with house money, as they say.

“You have nothing to lose. You’re already out, you get a second chance, you fight your way.

“Every round I made was an extra plus, an extra opportunity. I’m just thankful that I managed to fight my way through that one.”

Caroline Wozniacki screams for joy after making it through to the Australian Open final. Picture: AAP

Mertens – who had not won a grand slam match before this tournament - gave it everything, and will be inside the top 20 after the event.

She’s learned that “anything is possible”, and wants to go even higher than her new and improved ranking.

Saturday night’s final awaits for Wozniacki, who despite her narrow escape last week says she doesn’t believe in luck in tennis.

“I believe in preparation and effort,” she said.

“I believe if you really put everything into it, eventually things are going to go your way.

“No matter what happens on Saturday, all I know is that I’ve given it my best. Win or lose, I’m going to be very proud of my efforts these two weeks.”

There has been some luck that’s gone her way – off the court.

The 27-year-old said she and her team have been hitting Crown Casino in her down time, and have had some joy on the tables.

“We’ve been at the casino a couple of times, won a couple hundred dollars,” she smiled.

“I’m on a plus so far. We may go in and play a couple hundred again, see how it goes.”

Wozniacki is yet to win a grand slam final but she is hoping it’s a case of third time lucky.

“I’m in the final, and at that point, it’s the last match,” she said.