Tennis

Simona Halep off to winning start in WTA Finals against Bianca Andreescu


It was three years ago when a young Bianca Andreescu met her idol, Simona Halep, at a tournament in Canada. They talked and Halep handed out some sage advice: the 16-year-old Andreescu was already good enough for the professional tour and she should join it as soon as possible.

On Monday, in their first match at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, the pair finally met as equals and grand slam champions and Halep, the Wimbledon champion, valiantly saved a match point and recovered from a set down to defeat Andreescu, the US Open champion, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a dramatic battle.

“It was a very tough match,” said Halep. “I knew that she’s a great player and she’s playing till the end without giving up. I had to fight. I’m a little bit dead but I have time tomorrow to recover. I’m really happy I finally won a match [again] in the WTA Finals.”

Halep is Romania’s most famous active athlete, while Andreescu’s parents are both Romanian and she spent part of her youth there. The match had been long-awaited and duly delivered. The youngster started off fearlessly, dictating the rallies with her weight of shot and her arsenal – dropshots, slices and loopy balls. She took the first set 6-3.

Halep fought back immediately, breaking first in a turbulent second set as Andreescu’s unorthodox attack met Halep’s resolute defence. At 6-5 in the second set, Andreescu seemed to be closing in on victory. But Halep defended every strike then crushed a cross-court backhand to avert the danger.

In the tie-break Halep’s defence finally triumphed as her ability to get one extra ball back forced Andreescu to aim for the lines. After saving two set points, Andreescu snapped a wild return long to push the match into a third set.

By that time Andreescu had undergone medical time-outs for a bleeding shin and aching back. Halep pounced, securing the vital break for 5-3 and serving out the victory.

“In the second set, even if she was leading, I had a thought that I’m stronger mentally. We had some long rallies, and I won those balls,” Halep said. “Then I just didn’t think about the result. I’ve been focused on myself. I just had in my head what I have to play against her to be good.”

Andreescu no longer needs advice from her rivals but she learned plenty in Monday’s battle as in their previous encounter. Many can outplay Halep for a set, but the great challenge is enduring the long, grinding rallies against one of the fittest players in the world and surviving to win two of them.

The defending champion, Elina Svitolina, overcame a marathon first set to edge out Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (12), 6-4, her seventh straight victory at the WTA Finals. “There is always pressure,” she said. “You always have to be up there, always have to bring your best game. Until the last point is done, you have to fight for every single point, every single game.

“That’s why round-robins are extremely tough, because you never know what’s going to happen. You have to give everything each time you step on the court.”



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