Simona Halep launched her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global campaign with an emphatic 6-0 6-3 victory over Flavia Pennetta in the first singles match of the tournament on Sunday.
Rocking her handprinted red Adidas kit, the top-seeded Romanian stormed through the first set in 26 minutes and while in the second set her opponent played more like she had en route to her US Open trophy last month, the outcome of the match was evident when the Italian dropped serve to trail 5-3 after a marathon eighth game.
Nothing is lost for Pennetta yet, as the WTA Finals are played in a round-robin format and she has two more matches in the Red Group, which also includes Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska.
Let me remind you that this is the first ever Pennetta’s appearance in the singles competition of the WTA Finals, while Halep was the runner-up to Serena Williams last year.
As you know, our photographer Jimmie48 is covering the event live this week and you can follow him on Twitter for constant updates. For photos from the past two days, check out his Friday’s gallery including the glamorous draw ceremony and Saturday’s gallery with press conference portraits.
Moreover, check out my overview of WTA players’ dresses from the draw ceremony that I wrote for the official website of the WTA Finals and let me know your thoughts here in the comments.
