Defending champion Serena Williams was thrashed 6-0 6-2 by Simona Halep at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion was remarkably off her game against the world No 4, who had never beaten the American.
Halep
won the first set in just 20 minutes, as Williams could only put seven
points on the board, suffering a bagel set for only the eighth time in
her illustrious career.
Serena Williams reacts during her shock defeat to Simona Halep, losing a bagel set for only the eighth time
World No 4 Simona Halep celebrates her emphatic 6-0, 6-2 win over Serena Williams at the WTA Finals
After the defeat Williams tweeted her congratulations to Halep, who tops the red group at the WTA Finals
Williams congratulates Halep, who beat the world No 1 for the first time having raced to a 6-0, 6-2 victory
Williams
couldn’t cope with Halep’s extraordinary shot making and depth in her
game as the Romanian crushed the US Open champion within an hour of
play.
Having
defeated Anan Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 on Monday in her first red group match,
it would have been expected Williams, who had made 16 consecutive
victories at the WTA Finals, to ease past Halep having won their three
previous meetings.
However Halep, brought a high level to the court and pounced on Williams’ temperamental serve to race to the first set.
Williams failed to recover, making 36 unforced errors and was broken five times during a flawless performance by Halep.
The
world No 1 will now need to beat Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the next
group match in Singapore to advance to the semi-finals.
Williams looked perplexed by her struggles on court as Halep capitalised on her erratic game in Singapore
The defending champion had won 16 consecutive matches at the WTA Finals but was far from her best
After
the victory a stunned Halep, who beat a top three player for the first
time, expressed her delight: ‘It’s the biggest win of my life.
‘I’m really happy as it was a dream of mine to beat one of the Williams sisters one day.
‘I’m sure it wasn’t her best tennis today but I played aggressive, opened up the court really well and fought for every point.
‘It’s crazy! I feel unbelievable right now but I have to quickly forget this and finish the tournament before I can party.’
