Both women won their first matches at the WTA Finals on Sunday, but with different routes to success.
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It was Halep’s first match since retiring first round at the China Open in Beijing two weeks ago. “I feel I can play my best tennis here”.
It could prove a useful work-out for the world number three as she bids to recover the title she won aged 17 on debut in 2004.
In another match, top-seed Simona Halep, last year’s WTA Finals runner-up, blasted reigning US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, 6-0, 6-3.
She just committed more errors (27 to 14), made fewer first serves (54 per cent to 56 per cent) and failed to take her two chances to break. Yet somehow she’s still the third seed, and despite the rust, the 2004 champ comes in with by far the best head-to-head against the rest of her group.
Halep admitted Sunday that she was nervous at their US Open meeting but had learned from her 6-1, 6-3 humbling at Flushing Meadows.
“This is my first competitive match since July so it’s a big deal for me”, Sharapova said in her on-court interview.
But Sharapova’s recent troubles with injury must be factored in, and they are a definite factor that goes towards making this the most open WTA Finals in recent memory.
In contrast to Halep’s rapid victory, Sharapova needed 2 hours, 48 minutes to win in the round-robin event.
Pennetta subsequently pulled out of the Moscow event citing a foot injury but fully intends to play in Singapore, which will be the final event of her career. “We are the best eight players in the world so every match is like a final”.
The win is Sharapova’s 13th in 15 matches against Radwanska.
With a field that does not include Serena Williams, next week’s WTA Finals is wide open. She can cut into Serena Williams’ points lead and position herself to make an early run at the No. 1 ranking. “I can play my best tennis here yet I didn’t play my best today, but I played good tennis”.
“I played fast, I played smart and aggressive I think”, Halep said after the match. “I am really focused on my job, (I will) do what I have to do, finish this week and enjoy it a little bit as well”.
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I have confidence and I just want to stay focused, because after tomorrow I will have a tough match. It was the Russian’s first match win since Wimbledon.
