Australian Open 2018: Sweet Caroline!

Caroline Wozniacki (click to enlarge)

The women’s final at the 2018 Australian Open was going to be special regardless of the outcome. It was a battle between the top two ranked players in the world. But more than that, it was a battle between arguably the two best players currently on tour without a Major win in singles. While it was difficult for me as a fan to watch Simona Halep come up short for a third time in a Major final, it was also wonderful to see Caroline Wozniacki finally get the monkey off her back with her maiden Major title. Her team might see this as validation that doing it their way has ultimately proven the right way. However, it’s impossible to prove a counterfactual. In other words, had she fully committed to an outside coach or a different style of play earlier in her in her career it’s impossible to know whether she might have won a Major or multiple Majors before now. Today, that doesn’t matter. This is a day to celebrate her accomplishment and to finally check off the only thing that was left for her to do in her career. Even before winning she was a sure-fire Hall of Famer. But now she begins her rise on the list of the all-time greats. At 27 years old, Wozniacki has time to win more Majors and to further complete a career resume that could put her shoulder to shoulder with the greatest to have ever played.