SINGAPORE – Romania’s Simona Halep comfortably defeated Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-3 on Monday’s opening night of the WTA Finals.
In a clash of the only two players making their first appearance at the season-ending championships, Halep lost only four points when getting her first serve into play.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., was well below her best, racking up 30 unforced errors against 11 from Halep.
Serena Williams won her opening match earlier on Monday, beating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 in the other Red Group match, for her 16th consecutive victory at the finals.
Williams came into the finals after injuries forced her out of her previous two outings and following Russian official Shamil Tarpischev’s disparaging comments about her and sister Venus.
The top-ranked Williams was shaky in her opening service game, saving two break points, but still took a 4-1 lead. Ivanovic got back on serve but lost the first set when she double-faulted at 15-40 in the final game — one of her seven double-faults.