Tennis legend Martina Navratilova believes Simona Halep is — WTA Finals

Facing off against a player renowned for her incredible retrieving skills was always likely to be a stamina-sapping test, so Sharapova was impressed by her ability to stay consistent as the clock ticked towards the three hour mark. She’s been trying to be more aggressive this year and has done it well at times.

Sharapova was sidelined after the Wimbledon semifinals until the Wuhan tournament in China four weeks ago with a prolonged foot injury. “Of course I can lose it, and I can win it. It’s not very important the result”. Sharapova demonstrated her determination again in her opening match Sunday, surviving a 2-hour, 45-minute struggle with surging, match-hardened Agnieszka Radwanska to win in three agonizing sets.

“Coming into this event, I tried to do everything I could to be healthy and although I didn’t play my best tennis today, sometimes that’s not what matters”, Sharapova said of a match that lasted two hours, 48 minutes with a large portion of games going to deuce. Still, with Maria’s lack of play this season and her newest injury, Aga is looking like a tough competitor and I think that this match could go either way.

The upcoming match will be the first time this season that Sharapova and Halep clash on the tennis court.

That generalization helps explains how Halep could have lost to Pennetta at the US Open, only to rebound and absolutely crush the Italian in the first round-robin segment in Singapore, 6-0, 6-3. But in a way it’s also a built-in rebuke of Halep as a big-match player.

A backhand dropper put the game back to deuce and she would clinch the match on her second match point and looked on to her box with a shrug and a smile after winning a second consecutive marathon in Singapore against Radwanska. Players fluctuate so much more than in my time. You can afford to lose a match before the knockout, semifinal stage. Although she surrendered one of her two service breaks in the seventh game, she prevailed to send the match into the decisive third set. She also played well in Beijing, advancing to the semis and besting her fellow Finalists Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza. She also stated that to be able to come out on the court and fight until the end to win a match meant a lot to her, said BBC.

According to BBC report, Halep won the game against Flavia Pennetta in just 72 minutes not showing any sign that she was anxious with the injury she had earlier this month.

Or the specter of Serena Williams.