2017 Wta Finals in Singapore had its opening statement yesterday having Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza in front of the pack. Today, it was the Red Group's turn to deliver some blistering tennis with Simona Halep, the current world No. 1, cruising past Caroline Garcia, the eighth seed. The second rubber of the day saw a near-to-perfection display of power from Caroline Wozniacki who went on dismantling Elina Svitolina.
Halep got her revenge after losing that final in Beijing to Garcia while on the other side Wozniacki earned her first ever win against Elina Svitolina.
Simona Halep made a stylish official debut as world No. 1
Putting her feet on the WTA summit after missing several opportunities throughout the season meant the world for Simona Halep. Singapore is where she has become a regularity over the past years as she has managed to qualify for the fourth consecutive season. On the other side, Caroline Garcia was seeking to prolong her winning streak that started a while ago in Wuhan.
The 24-year-old from France seemed to have the match within reach as she started the encounter on a dominant note. But, the lack of experience in the tense moments took its toll as she was unable to handle what seemed to be a superior firepower. Once she got her nose in front, Halep made everything by the book.
A solid first serve and an aggressive game from the baseline put an extra pressure on Garcia who started to falter towards the first set's ending. Halep went on to convert the third set point she had and from that point on it was all about her with Garcia fading away pretty fast. An early break in the second set gave Halep the ultimate momentum as she pushed harder to seal the deal in straight sets.
The Romanian will face Caroline Wozniacki who went on a cruising mode against Elina Svitolina.
Caroline Wozniacki raced past Elina Svitolina
Another interesting matchup had been set for today as Wozniacki was trying to earn her first win over Svitolina. The former world No. 1 Dane also returned to Singapore after a three years hiatus.
On the other side, the player from Ukraine was facing her debut match on this stage.
Wozniacki put in quite a statement winning a match that went on her side from the start. Svitolina was barely a shadow of the player who had won three Premier 5 events in 2017. A straight set win by 6-2 6-0 in about an hour of play that ends the first rotation of the event.
For the first-timers, namely Svitolina, Ostapenko and Garcia, the debut party has no glow whatsoever as none of them was able to win at least a set.
