Caroline Wozniacki. Photo / Getty
Follow live updates as Caroline Wozniacki takes on Julia Goerges in the ASB Classic final.
Wozniacki and Goerges have both made the final once before, but neither have raised the title in Auckland.
After all the trials and tribulations of the past week, the 2018 ASB Classic has got the dream final.
The weather threatened to ruin the tournament, with rain meaning no play on Thursday and Friday, but things seem much rosier now.
Despite occasional delays, the quarter-finals and semifinals were completed yesterday, with top seed Caroline Wozniacki and world No 14 Julia Goerges the last two women left standing.
It's feels like the best match-up in a decider since 2015, when Venus Williams beat Wozniacki in a three-set thriller.
Both players are in red hot form. Wozniacki had a great 2017, with a tour-high eight finals and victory in the season-ending championships in Singapore to rise to No 3 in the world, her highest ranking in years.
Goerges is also coming off a remarkable winning streak, with her last defeat in early October.
And the two players are longstanding rivals. They first met in 2010 at the Australian Open, with Goerges holding a 5-4 advantage.
The 29-year-old German has won their last two encounters, including a three-set quarter-final in last year's ASB Classic.
Today is also a meeting of two crowd favourites. Goerges has gained many admirers in eight previous visits, while Wozniacki, 27, has won hearts and minds with her regular trips to Auckland in recent years.
It could also turn into a war of attrition. Wozniacki said she was "exhausted" after a trying day yesterday, with more than four hours on court and a day that stretched from early morning past 7pm.
In her quarter-final, Wozniacki was pushed hard by American wildcard Sofia Kenin, and both players were tested mentally by the conditions, having to leave the court three times due to rain.
The Dane eventually prevailed 4-6 6-2 6-4 in almost two-and-a-half hours, before a tougher than expected semifinal with qualifier Sachia Vickery.
