World number one Serena Williams beat
Simona Halep in straight sets to win the
WTA Tour Finals for the third consecutive
year in Singapore on Sunday.
The American won 6-3 6-0 to claim the
season ending tournament for a fifth time- a
total bettered only by Martina Navratilova.
Williams will also end the year as the number
one.
The victory was also revenge for the 18-time
Grand Slam winner, after suffering one of her
heaviest defeats in her career at the hand of
the Romanian in the round robin group stage
four days ago.
“You made me a better player,” Williams said
to Halep on the trophy podium.
Serena Williams Clinches Her Fifth WTA
Finals in Singapore. Image: Getty.
Serena added: “I was trying to stay positive
and trying to just stay out there and play
better. I made so many errors in our last
match. I knew for a fact I couldn’t make that
many errors. I had to play more Serena-style
tennis and just do what I do best: enforce
myself. That’s what I was trying to do.
“I made so many unforced errors in our first
match (against Halep), and I think knowing
that she has the ability and the capability to
play so well, I knew that I had to step up my
game.
“It was also good for me to lose that match,
because now I know what to expect next
year. I know what to work on once the pre-
season starts.”
After a slow start that saw Halep open up a
2-1 lead, Williams upped her game to restore
parity and piled more pressure to close out
the set with a couple of aces.
Williams reduced her double fault count and
attacked Halep serve with dexterity as she
broke twice to take the lead, before a
flashing forehand return made it 5-0. A
misjudged drop cost her her first
championship point but she smashed the
winner moments later after just 69 minutes.
Halep said: “She was more motivated and
more focused maybe this match. She tried to
hit the balls very strong. Like I said before,
every day is a new day; it’s a different day.
So we saw today that it was a different day.”
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