second-seeded monica seles won the title and defeated jana novotná 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 in the final to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1991 australian open. she became the first woman in the open era to win the australian open after saving a match point (in the semifinals, versus mary joe fernandez). steffi graf was the three-time defending champion, but lost to novotná in the quarterfinals.