WTA Finals Singapore: Maria Sharapova Stays Perfect Against Simona Halep
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Tournament draw Maria Sharapova kept her record perfect against Simona Halep beating the Romanian 6-4, 6-4 in round robin play earlier today at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Sharapova, who is now 6-0 against Halep, is returning after a 3-week injury break but has played great tennis this week.
“It definitely got really tough,” said Sharapova who won this title in 2004. “I guess those are the moments you have to get through when you haven’t played in a long time, and against the No.2 player in the world these matches don’t come easy. It definitely showed until the end.”
Sharapova is 2-0 in the Red Group, Halep 1-1.
Sharapova will now face US Open champion Flavia Pennetta on Thursday with semifinal qualification berths on the line. The Italian today ousted Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6, 6-4.
“I tried to be really focused, tried to hit the ball hard, be aggressive and not give her too much time to do her job,” Pennetta said. “I mean, she plays unbelievable, she can let you run for hours all over the court, so you need to be really aggressive with her.
“My serve helped me a lot today and helped me play the way I did today. Of course the key was to be really near to the baseline, not to give up much of the court and take advantage. It’s my first time in the Finals as a singles player. It’s really nice to play here, the court is nice and the crowd is amazing.”
Pennetta improves to 1-1 while Radwanska is winless at 0-2 but still in contention.
Tomorrow in White Group play, Garbine Muguruza meets Angelique Kerber and Lucie Safarova faces fellow Czech Petra Kvitova. Kvitova leads Safarova 7-0 while Muguruza has won her last three against Kerber.
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