MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The Latest on Saturday from the Australian Open (all times local):
12:50 a.m.
Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia have captured the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open.
Marach and Pavic, the No. 7 seeds, beat Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the final at Rod Laver Arena 6-4, 6-4.
Marach and Pavic were the hottest team coming into the Australian Open, winning season-opening events in Doha, Qatar, and Auckland, New Zealand. They’ve now won 15 straight matches dating back to last season.
The pair also made last year’s Wimbledon final, losing to Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.
Cabal and Farah were bidding to become the first Colombian players to win a Grand Slam doubles title. They’ve been playing together since 2011 and were appearing in their 25th Grand Slam together.
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12:20 a.m.
Caroline Wozniacki may have taken her title, but Serena Williams is happy for her friend, nonetheless.
Williams was the defending champion at the Australian Open after winning last year, but decided not to play as she continues her recovery after a difficult childbirth in September.
She was on Twitter immediately after Wozniacki finished off her win over Simona Halep to congratulate her for her first Grand Slam title.
Williams said, “I got too nervous to watch but woke up to @CaroWozniacki new number one and Aussie Open champ. So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are. From a year ago to today I’m so proud my friend so proud. Literally can’t even sleep now.”
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10:25 p.m.
Caroline Wozniacki has captured her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, rebounding in the third set to beat Simona Halep 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4.
Halep was broken in her opening service game of the third set to go down 2-0, just as she was in the first set. This time, however, the top-seeded Romanian was able to recover and break Wozniacki back in the marathon third game on her sixth break chance.
Wozniacki then called a trainer for treatment on her knee after being broken for the third time in the set to go down 3-4. Halep waited behind the baseline, bouncing the ball with her racket and trying to keep her legs loose.
When they returned to the court, Wozniacki immediately broke back to level the match at 4-all and then broke Halep in the Romanian’s next service game to take the match.
Both Halep and Wozniacki had previously lost two Grand Slam finals - Halep twice at the French Open and Wozniacki twice at the U.S. Open.
Wozniacki will also regain the No. 1 ranking next week, six years after she previously held the top spot.
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9:15 p.m.
Simona Halep has rallied to capture the second set 6-3 to level the women’s final at one set apiece.
Halep called for the trainer after the fifth game as she started experiencing difficulties in the heat and humidity. The trainers took her blood pressure and checked her pulse, while Halep put an ice-wrapped towel around her neck.
Halep returned to the court and broke Wozniacki in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. The Romanian then faced three break points in her next service game, but saved all of them and finally closed out the set on her third set point.
The conditions continued to be very hot and humid at Rod Laver Arena with the temperature at 30.5 degrees Celsius (87 Fahrenheit) with 60 percent humidity at 9 p.m. Due to the heat, the players were given a 10-minute break before starting the third set.
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8:25 p.m.
Caroline Wozniacki has captured the first set against Simona Halep in the Australian Open women’s final, 7-6 (2).
Halep was broken in her first service game to go down a quick 2-0. Wozniacki didn’t face pressure on her serve until the ninth game when she went down 0-40 and faced triple break point. Halep then converted the break to make it 4-5 when Wozniacki floated a forehand long.
Wozniacki went ahead in the tiebreaker, winning the last three points. It’s the first set she’s won in a Grand Slam final.
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7:30 p.m.
The Australian Open women’s final between No. 1 Simona Halep and No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki has begun at Rod Laver Arena.
Both players are looking for their first Grand Slam title after coming up short twice before - Halep losing twice in the French Open final, Wozniacki twice at the U.S. Open.
The conditions were hot and humid when the match started with the temperature at 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit).
Wozniacki won the toss and chose to serve.
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3:55 p.m.
Australian Open officials say South Korean car company Kia Motors has extended its partnership with the tournament for another five years.
Kia has been an Australian Open sponsor for 17 years.
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3:15 p.m
American Sebastian Korda, son of 1998 Australian Open men’s champion Petr Korda, won the boys singles title on Saturday, beating Tseng Chun Hsin of Taiwan 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the final on Rod Laver Arena.
Liang En Shuo became the first player from Taiwan to win the girls singles crown, beating France’s Clara Burel 6-3, 6-4. It was the 18th consecutive singles victory for Liang.
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