Halep and Wozniacki face off with eye on first Grand Slam title

MELBOURNE: They are a year apart in age -world no.1

Simona Halep

and no.2 Caroline Wozniacki. 26 and 27. At 5 ft 6', the Romanian is playing a tall girl's sport. The Dane, with wheels for feet, has garnished her dogged persistence with power. Both have made two other major title rounds, Halep in Roland Garros (2014 and '17) and Wozniacki at the US Open (2009 and '14).



Halep, gutted in the second final, has had her coach

Darren Cahill

hold up the mirror to her, finding the nerve to change and grow. Wozniacki, who was burnt in life, was twice beaten. Both players have a taste of the top ranking in the sport, but neither know what it is to win the biggest prize.

Saturday's match which pits Halep against Wozniacki will be the first Grand Slam final between the No.1 and No.2 seeds at a major since

Serena Williams

defeated Maria Sharapova to win the

Australian Open

in 2015. Wozniacki, glamorous and resourceful, leads the headto-head 4-2, having won both meetings last year, in Eastbourne and the WTA Finals in Singapore.

Halep has the ranking, Wozniacki the head-to-head edge.

The Romanian, who has spent 11 hours 31 minutes on court to get the title match, some 92 minutes more than her opponent, has fought back from the death in these Championships, just like the Dane. "I played many times against her. The way she's playing, she's not missing. She's running very well. I have to work. I'm ready for it," Halep of the stout steel and easy grace, said.

Wozniacki won their last encounter in October at the loss of two games. "Amazing player, great athlete, fighter, counterpuncher," she said of her opponent. "Halep, just like me, was down match points in the tournament, she has come back and fought her way. A new opportunity on Saturday, and I'm going to do my best to try and win it."

In a sense their storylines spark a sameness of experience and emotion. Of success, but not quite succeeding; of winning, but not holding the trophy that tops cabinets. The title fight then could come down to a certain difference or the sum of it. The women's final then is not going to be about sport's celebrated adage of who wants it more, rather of who handles the nerves better.

Halep, whose challenge came apart at the seams against that fearless Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the French Open final, said she may have conquered the fear of losing.

"I was a little bit too negative before, I'm trying to change that. I changed already, but I need to work on it more. I want to improve more, and I will be focused on this thing. I will be much better in the future," she said, adding, "It's a bit of a good feeling (not to fear losing). Also confidence, extra confidence, the result doesn't matter anymore. Like I said, this tournament didn't matter. This way of thinking has helped me a lot."

Wozniacki, who is in Melbourne with her fiancé, former NBA star

David Lee

, has learnt from her first two Slam finals.