World number one Simona Halep saw off 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in a thrilling contest to reach her first Australian Open final.

The Romanian, twice a French Open runner-up, saved two match points on her way to a 6-3 4-6 9-7 victory.

In Saturday’s final Halep will face Caroline Wozniacki, a straight-set winner over Elise Mertens, with both women looking for a first major title.

The world number one ranking will also be up for grabs for the champion.

• Wozniacki beats Mertens to reach final
• Live scores, schedule and results
• BBC coverage times

Halep led by a set and a break but failed to convert two match points at 5-4 in the decider, and two games later found herself facing two match points.

However, the 26-year-old hammered a forehand into the corner on her way to saving the game, and clinched victory at the fourth attempt when Kerber’s defence finally cracked.

“It was very tough. I’m shaking, I’m emotional,” said Halep.

“I knew it was going to be tough. She’s a tough opponent who is moving well and hitting from everywhere. I want to thank everyone for supporting me and helping me.”

Both Halep and Wozniacki have made it through to the final having saved match points along the way – Halep also saved three in the third round against Lauren Davis, while Wozniacki saved two in the second round against Jana Fett.

I was a rollercoaster – Halep

When Halep led 5-0 after 13 minutes it looked like the semi-final might be a rout, and when she served for a 4-1 lead in the second set it appeared on course to be routine – in the end it was a classic.

Both women arrived in the semi-final on 10-match unbeaten runs in 2018, and it eventually turned out to be the contest expected, but things looked very different for the first hour.

Halep was dialled in from the start, firing blistering back-to-back winners as she broke serve for the third time in under quarter of an hour to lead 5-0.

However, two Halep double faults opened the door and Kerber found her range on her favourite forehand down the line.

The German looked capable of challenging for the set when she broke twice to trail 5-3, but Halep managed to put the pressure back on, converting her second set point when the German netted.

Halep had her chances to complete a swift win, serving with a point for a 4-1 lead in the second set, and failing to punish a second serve on break point at 4-3.

The disappointment lingered and Kerber took advantage, reeling off three games to clinch the set and break at the start of the second thanks to an extraordinary rally of lobs and volleys.

A poor Kerber service game saw Halep level at 1-1 with a backhand winner, and the set became a gripping tussle with chances on either side.

Halep seemed to have made the decisive move when she broke serve for 5-3, but Kerber hit straight back by levelling with an incredible backhand winner off her knees.

The German then saw off two match points to level at 5-5, leaving Halep swiping her racquet in frustration at the opposite baseline.

Kerber would then get two chances to seal it on serve, but Halep stepped up the intensity on her returns and brought it back to 6-6.

Two brilliant defenders capable of absorbing and redirecting their opponent’s best shots made for thrilling viewing, and the tightest of matches finally went Halep’s way when Kerber could not make a backhand on match point number four.

“I tried to be very calm but I was a rollercoaster today – up and down,” said Halep.

“I didn’t give up and that’s what matters. If you don’t give up you can win. I’m really proud of myself actually.”

Kerber said: “Of course I had the two match points, but she played good, so I couldn’t do anything. It was just a battle at the end. It’s just one or two points which decides the match.”

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Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki overcame a late bout of nerves to beat unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens and reach her first Australian Open final.

The 27-year-old, seeded second, saw off the world number 37, 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in Melbourne.

Wozniacki is through to her third major final, and will face top seed Simona Halep or 2016 winner Angelique Kerber.

Should Kerber win the second semi-final, Wozniacki will overtake Halep as the new world number one.

• Edmund ready for ‘great opportunity’ in semi-final
• Live scores, schedule and results
• BBC coverage times

Wozniacki was two points from capping what would have been a hugely impressive serving performance, and a relatively straightforward victory, after 70 minutes.

Breaks of serve in the fourth game of the first set and the fifth game of the second had put the Dane firmly in control, and Mertens had failed to make any impression.

Twice a Grand Slam runner-up, and having lost her only previous Melbourne semi-final after holding match point against Li Na seven years ago, it was no great surprise that closing out the match might still be a test for Wozniacki.

“Calm down!” she told her team in the player box at one changeover as the finish line approached.

The Dane had lost just 11 points on serve across two sets when she first tried to seal it at 6-3 5-4.

However, from 30-0 the tension took hold, the serve lost its power and a double fault allowed Mertens to level.

Suddenly the 22-year-old Belgian was able to tee off on some weak second serves, and it was credit to Wozniacki that she clung on in the face of two set points to force a tie-break.

The dominant Wozniacki returned and she capitalised on an early break, firing a backhand into the corner to set up match point and raising her arms in relief when Mertens found the net.

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France’s Alize Cornet is being investigated by the International Tennis Federation for violating anti-doping rules, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has said.

Cornet, the world number 42, is alleged to have missed three random out-of-competition drugs tests in 12 months.

The FFT says the 27-year-old will not be selected for France’s Fed Cup tie with Belgium starting on 10 February.

Cornet lost in the third round of the Australian Open.

Boris Becker has lost five of his six Grand Slam trophies and is appealing for the public’s help to locate them.

The German, 50, wants to sell the trophies to pay off his debts after he was declared bankrupt in June 2017.

Two Australian Open trophies and three from Wimbledon are missing. He also is missing an Olympic gold medal.

“Mr Becker is unable to recollect where they are located,” said a joint statement from Becker and his London-based bankruptcy trustees.

The All England Tennis Club, the German Tennis Federation, the US Tennis Association, Tennis Australia and the International Tennis Hall of Fame have said they do not have the trophies.

A London bankruptcy court ruled in June that Becker owed a firm of private bankers a large sum and there was was not enough credible evidence that he could pay.

“We are currently trying to locate and recover Mr Becker’s missing Australian Open and Wimbledon trophies, settling an income payments agreement for the next three years as well as continuing our investigations into other possible recoveries, including property, in the UK and overseas,” said Mark Ford from Smith & Williamson LLP.

Former world number one Becker first shot to prominence by winning Wimbledon as an unseeded 17-year-old in 1985.

During a 15-year professional career he won 64 ATP Tour titles, including three Wimbledon singles crowns, two Australian Open titles and the US Open.

He also won two Davis Cups and an Olympic gold medal in men’s doubles.

Since retiring from the game, Becker has worked in business and the media and also coached former world number one Novak Djokovic for three years from 2013.

The missing trophies

Becker is missing 14 trophies, among the key items are:

• 1992 Olympic gold medal in men’s doubles
• 1985, 1986 and 1989 Wimbledon trophies
• 1991 and 1996 Australian Open trophies
• 1989 Davis Cup