Simona Halep is taking an interesting approach to her first WTA Finals.
While others in the eight-woman field have boldly claimed they’re in it to win it, the Romanian world No4 admits that the best way for her to take pressure off herself is to just look forward to experiencing the elite season finale.
Halep took to the court with a huge smile on her face in her opening match, saying she wanted to make sure she enjoys every moment of her first finals appearance and, a little over an hour later, she was walking off the court with a comfortable victory over world No5 Eugenie Bouchard.
She faces much tougher opposition today in the form of defending champion Serena Williams, a player she hasn’t faced all year.
“I expect a lot of winners from her,” is Halep’s outlook for the match, which will be their fourth career meeting (Williams leads 3-0).
"It will be a big challenge for me. I have nothing to lose. She’s number one in the world and the best. She’s very strong on court. She’s serving well. So I cannot say that I expect something. I just want to go there on court and just to try to fight for every point and to fight for my chance. I believe that I have a chance, but it’s tough to say that I can win.”
A lot has changed for Halep since her most recent clash with Williams, which was in Cincinnati last season (August 2013). The 23-year-old is 6-4 against top-10 opposition in 2014, has finished runner-up at Roland Garros last June and peaked at No2 in the world two months ago.
Still, Halep does not feel much closer to beating Williams today than she was last year.
“Last year she beat me in Cincinnati. It was a tough match, a good match for me. A lot of experience,” said Halep. “I really don’t know about what I have to expect. I expect a tough match.”
Meanwhile, Williams will be relying on her coach Patrick Mouratoglou to provide proper intel on Halep. While the American was facing her opening round opponent, Ana Ivanovic, for a fifth time this season, her next two opponents – Halep and Bouchard – are players she hasn’t faced this year.
“I really don’t like to watch the matches,” said Williams. “I think that’s the job my coach does. So we usually have a talk. I’m not blind, so I kind of know their games a little bit. But for me, I just try to play my game more than anything, and hopefully that works.”
The second match of the day will see two players looking to improve their position in the Red Group, having lost their first matches.
Ivanovic lost a close match to Williams and she’ll have to serve better against Bouchard, who leads the Serb 2-0 head-to-head.