Tribble Agency
Tribble Agency


Flavia Pennetta qualifies for WTA Finals in Singapore

Simona Halep opened her WTA Finals campaign by cruising to a 6-0 6-3 victory over US Open champion Flavia Pennetta on Sunday.

Sharapova made an attempt at a comeback in late September in Wuhan, China, but had to pull out during a match as her forearm pain returned.

"The road to Singapore was pretty hard in the last month, but I'm really enjoying... this event, " Pennetta said.

"I've done quite a few start and stops in the last four months, that's kind of been the toughest part, but ultimately, I know that a lot of the girls have been fighting for the last few positions in the last few weeks", Sharapova told reporters. "We are the best eight players in the world so every match is like a final".

"I was very exhausted after my match against (Victoria) Azarenka, and then I was without energy when I played with Flavia".

Sharapova showed that her battling qualities remain intact, however, as she hit back from a set down to win in just short of three hours, after recovering from 15-40 when serving for the match. Injuries have really hampered the Russian, but that should not stop her from putting on what could potentially be a winning performance not just in this match, but in the whole tournament as well. I'm happy I got through.

Maria Sharapova overcomes a one-set deficit to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the WTA Championships. At 5-4, she double-faulted on her first match point, but won the match two points later when Radwanska netted a forehand. "I played my best in the first set, fast, smart and aggressive", Halep said in her on-court interview.

Muguruza, who will also play doubles with fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, admitted she was nervous ahead of her WTA Finals singles debut and didn't consider herself one of the favourites.

In the opening set, Halep dropped just three points on her own serve and broke Pennetta three times to serve the Italian a bagel in 25 minutes.

She reached her first Grand Slam final in Wimbledon, where she was defeated by Williams, and also reached the quarter-finals at the French Open.

But of those trailing the pair, none save Gasquet have a real chance of qualifying, as Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, provisional ninth, is not playing next week.

The eight players have been separated into two groups to begin the round-robin part of the tournament.

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