WTA Finals: Simona Halep begins with emphatic win over US Open champion Flavia Pennetta

Simona Halep, world number two, is the highest ranked player in the field after Serena Williams withdrew citing the need to rest. (Source: AP)

Romania’s Simona Halep kicked off her campaign for a maiden WTA Finals title in emphatic fashion with a thumping 6-0 6-3 victory over U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta in the opening match of the eight-woman season-ending tournament on Sunday.

The world number two is the highest ranked player in the field after Serena Williams, who has won the tournament the last three years, withdrew citing the need to rest after a year spent carrying injuries.

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Halep crushed Williams in round robin play a year ago before losing to the American in the final and her love of the Singapore Indoor Stadium hard court was evident in a first set she wrapped up in 26 minutes after breaking serve three times.

“I feel the same now as I did against Serena,” Halep told reporters of the win. “I can play my best tennis here yet I didn’t play my best today, but I played good tennis.

“I played solid and was dominating the match,” she added.

“I have confidence and I just want to stay focused, because after tomorrow I will have a tough match. I expect every match to be difficult, so I just want to stay focused and to believe that I have my chance.”

The Romanian had arrived in Singapore under an injury cloud after picking up an ankle knock at the start of October, but the 24-year-old moved effortlessly around the court on Sunday and withstood Pennetta’s attempts to get back into the contest.

The 33-year-old Italian played more like she had on her way to a stunning victory in New York last month in the second set but her resistance ended in a marathon eighth game when she dropped serve to trail 5-3 after staving off three break points.

Pennetta, who announced she would retire from tennis at the end of the season, forced only two break points, both in the opening game of the second set, during the entire match and her unforced error count of 27 made life much easier for Halep.

“The ‘Road to Singapore’ was pretty hard over the last month, but I’m really enjoying playing in this event and being here,” the 33-year-old said of her maiden singles appearance in the WTA Finals.

“Of course I would love to play a little bit better but I still have a chance. I still have two matches to play, so we will see what happens.”

Round robin play continues later on Sunday when world number three Maria Sharapova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in a contest between the other two players in the ‘Red Group’.

The ‘White Group’ consists of Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Lucie Safarova, with play in that pool starting on Monday.