Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, the current number one in the WTA ranking, will play the Australian Open final for the first time in her career.

The Saturday, January 27, match will be another go for Halep at a Grand Slam singles title, after playing two finals at Roland Garros, which she lost to Maria Sharapova in 2014, and Jelena Ostapenko in 2017.

A win at the Australian Open would be an opportunity for Halep to consolidate her WTA leader position with a victory that offers the most ranking points and prize money. The winner of both Men's & Women's Singles finals receives a prize worth AUD 4 million (some EUR 2.59 million). It would also quiet the critics that have snubbed her No.1 ranking in the absence of a Grand Slam win.

The media interest in this weekend’s women finals is high as the winner of the Saturday match will go on to become No. 1 beginning January 29. At the same time, neither Halep nor Caroline Wozniacki, whom she will play on Saturday, have won a Grand Slam singles title before.

A New York Times analysis calls Halep’s semifinals match “one of the best Australian Open” ones. The article quotes ESPN analyst and former U.S. Open finalist Pam Shriver saying that “In that final set they had six or seven of the greatest rallies I can remember.” It also noted Halep is a “counterpuncher with a similar style” to Wozniacki’s.

The one thing that will definitely set them apart on Saturday is that Halep is still playing without a sponsor outfit. She ended her collaboration with German group Adidas at the end of last year, after not reaching a renewal deal. At the Shenzhen Open and at the Australian Open she wore a red dress, ordered from a seamstress in China. “And why not stick with it?” news.com.au wondered in a recent article, noting that she may be celebrating again in Melbourne in the same outfit.

editor@romania-insider.com