Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes after a great match in which Sharapova had to hold off Halep’s late comeback in the second set. Both players traded breaks in the first set but Sharapova reeled off seven of the next eight games en route to building up a 6-4 5-1 lead. Halep trailed 1-5 in the second set but clawed her way into the match to 4-5 by getting two consecutive breaks but Sharapova broke serve to close out the second set.
Simona Halep came into the match with a straight set win over Flavia Pennetta in a match where she dropped just three games. The Romanian took a revenge against the Italian who beat her in the semifinal of the US Open.
Maria Sharapova battled past Agnieszka Radwanska in her first round robin match with 4-6 6-3 6-4 in her first completed match since Wimbledon.
Sharapova won all her five previous head-to-head matches against Halep but the Romanian pushed her to three sets in their last three clashes played in 2014 in Madrid, in the Roland Garros final and in Cincinnati
In the first set both players traded breaks in the second and the third games. Halep was broken in her first service game to trail 0-2. In the third game Halep hit an inside-out forehand at 15-30 to earn two break points. She hit a cross-court forehand return to break back for 1-2.
Sharapova held serve from 30-all to take the 3-2 lead. In the sixth game Halep hit a running forehand to which Sharapova responded with an inside-out backhand that clipped outside the line. Halep held serve to 15. Sharapova led 40-15 but Halep fought back to force the seventh game to deuce. At 15-30 in the eighth game Halep hit a backhand down the line winner to draw level to 30-all before holding her serve for 4-4. Sharapova hit a spectacular drop-shot to draw level to 30-30 at 4-4 before holding her serve.
At 4-5 15-40 Halep saved two set points but Sharapova converted her third break point to clinch the first set with 6-4.
In the first set Sharapova hit 11 winners to 17 unforced errors but made 5 double faults. She converted two of her four break point chances and won 62 percent of her first serve points. Halep hit 4 winners to 8 unforced errors and converted her only break point.
Sharapova held her serve easily to take a 1-0 lead. The Russian star broke serve in the second game to take a 2-0 lead after a 10-minute second game marked by great rallies from both players. Sharapova held her serve to 30 to race out to 3-0.
Halep won the fourth game breaking the losing streak of four consecutive games from 4-4 in the first set. Sharapova held serve for 4-1 as Halep sent her backhand into the net. Halep did not play a bad match but Sharapova outplayed the Romanian player with her great shots and defence.
Sharapova brought up a break point at 4-1 and converted it. She was looking to close the match out but she failed to convert two chances to serve out the match as she made her 7th double fault to face a break point. Halep got the break winning her second game since 4-4 in the first set. The Romanian player held her serve to love in the eighth game to win her second consecutive game for 3-5.
Halep was on fire and got a second consecutive break to claw her way back to 4-5 when Sharapova was serving for the match. Halep won a great first point before Sharapova reeled off four consecutive points to hold off Halep’s comeback. Sharapova broke serve with a backhand to close out the match after 1 hour and 54 minutes.
Sharapova hit 22 winners to 34 unforced errors. She converted 5 of her 11 break points and won 56 percent of her first serve points. Halep hit ten winners to 14 unforced errors and converted all her three break points. She won 70 first serve points and five of her eight points at the net.
Sharapova scored her 20th win in this tournament and her best win in more than one year. The last time she beat a world number 2 dates back to Cincinnati 2014 when she prevailed against Halep in the quarter finals.
Although Sharapova won her first two matches and dropped just one set against Agniszka Radwanska, she has not qualified yet for the semifinals. All four players in the Red Group have still a chance to get through to the semifinals.
Sharapova came into the WTA Finals with just one match since the long break after Wimbledon due to injury problems. She did not finish her first round at Wuhan where she picked up a left foreharm injury.
“It definitely got realy tough. I guess those are the moments you have to get through when you haven’t played in a long time and against the number 2 player in the world these matches don’t come easy. It definitely showed until the end. I am quite pleased to be able to beat the number 2 player in the world. It was a very physical match. I found myself on the defense many times and was able to win a lot of the long points. ”, said Sharapova.
Halep commented after the match praising the great match of Sharapova. “She was moving pretty well. When I opened the court, she did some unbelievable shots. She didn’t miss. She was very close to the line. She had a good day today. She played her best. She deserves to win and I give her a lot of credit for this match”, said Halep
