Maria Sharapova extends winning streak against Simona Halep — WTA Finals

Top-seeded Simona Halep was eliminated from this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals on Thursday afternoon (Oct 29) after the Romanian was beaten 7-6 (5), 6-1 by Agnieska Radwanska.

“I’ve been in very different scenarios in the many times that I’ve played in the championships”, Sharapova said.

It was no walk in the park, with the first set going to a tense tie-break.

The Russian tennis star now leads the Red Group with two wins after previously defeating Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 6-3 6-4 in her first full match since the Wimbledon semifinals. Right now I feel good.

Radwanska went on to wrap up the set to give herself a lifeline in the tournament. All of a sudden, it was like she couldn’t miss.

“You’re always going to have it. You’re always going to have that fluctuation… but not with Serena because she has the ability to hold serve”.

A couple of years ago, the Russian would have never been able to return a few of the balls Halep’s sharp, angular shots, but ever since she has worked on her lateral movement, she is able to dig out shots that would surprise anyone.

The Pole missed set point in the 10th game and when she fell 5-1 down in the ensuing tie-break it looks like curtains for her in Singapore.

Halep will play with Radwanska. Soon after getting broken, the world number two broke straight back and recovered one of the two breaks against her. All of a sudden, Sharapova began to misfire again and a comeback looked to be on the cards for Halep. Now leading 5-3, Sharapova had a chance to serve for the match for a second time.

Halep is now ready for a break after a demanding 2015 campaign. Despite the loss, Halep is still motivated to work harder.

Pennetta said she was enjoying every moment on the court after declaring her retirement plans. “It definitely showed until the end”.

It was a remarkable turnaround after being hammered by Halep and the US Open champion credited her coach for the victory.

Her hopes appeared even more remote when the world No2 seized control of the contest from the outset, breaking in the first game and threatening to repeat the feat several times as Radwanska struggled to find her range.

“She was moving pretty well”, Halep said regarding Sharapova’s performance during her press conference. “The ball stays low and she can take it quite early and change direction”, she added.

The US Open champion has won their last three meetings – semi-finals of Los Angeles in 2009, third round of US Open in 2011 and the fourth round of Indian Wells this year.