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Tennis: Australia Caroline Wozniacki regains world No 1 rank

Roger Federer wins 20th grand slam in men’s singles but remains in second place

WINNING the Australian Open final this weekend has earned Caroline Wozniacki her first major title, and a bonus prize.

Wozniacki beat Simona Halep in three sets in the championship match on the weekend, meaning she’ll replace the Romanian player atop the WTA rankings released today.

“I think being a new grand slam champion and world No 1 sounds pretty good,” Wozniacki said. “I’m very excited for that. It’s a dream come true.”

Her six years between stints at No 1 beats Serena Williams’s record (five years, 29 days) for the longest span between losing and regaining the top ranking in the women’s tour.

Halep, who ascended to No 1 for the first time on October 9 last year and was playing her first major as the top seed, slips to No 2 in the new list.

Elina Svitolina moved up one place to No 3, switching places with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.

Angelique Kerber’s run to the Australian Open semi-finals, coming off her first title since the 2016 US Open when she won the Sydney International earlier this month, earned the former No 1 a spot in the top 10.

Elise Mertens is the biggest mover among the higher-ranked players after her impressive run to the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, improving from No 37 to No 20.

CoCo Vandeweghe made the most dramatic ranking slide after her Australian Open first-round loss, dropping from No 9 to No 18.

Johanna Konta also surrendered her place in the top 10, dropping to No 11 after her second-round upset loss to Bernarda Pera at Melbourne Park.

On the men’s side, Roger Federer will remain at No 2 behind Rafael Nadal on the ATP tour after successfully defending his Australian Open title and capturing a 20th major with a victory over Marin Cilic yesterday.

Cilic moves up from sixth to a career-high No 3 in the rankings, with Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev each dropping a spot to 4 and 5.

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