SINGAPORE — Simona Halep wouldn’t use the word ‘depressed’ to describe how she felt mid-season after disappointing early exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon yet she probably wasn’t too far off.
But it was those letdowns that led her to where she is at the moment – ranked No2 in the world (thanks to a semi-final showing at the US Open last month), seeded No1 at the WTA Finals, and a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Flavia Pennetta in her Singapore opener on Sunday.
“After Roland Garros and Wimbledon I said that I lost the year, so I have nothing,” the 24-year-old Romanian confessed.
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“I didn’t have expectations for the second half of the year, and I just came to play relaxed. I just came to find a way to come back. But I didn’t expect to do that good like I did in USA.
“I think (my coach) Darren (Cahill) helped me pushing me to believe in myself. My team was close to me. So everything was in a positive way, and that’s why maybe I’m here and playing good again.
“I had downs in the middle of the year, but I can say that it helped me because now I’m more relaxed. I’m more like focused for what I have to do, not about the result. So I think I improve more in my mentality.”
There appears to be a magical connection between Halep and the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Last year, she beat Serena Williams 6-0, 6-2 in the group stages before losing to the American in the final. And Pennetta could only muster one more game than Williams did in a 70-minute beat-down by Halep.
The Romanian mixed up her shots with sharp angles, deep down-the-line stunners and firing impeccable second serves, choosing to be – in her words – “smart-aggressive” .
In the opening set, Halep dropped just three points on her own serve and broke Pennetta three times to serve the Italian a bagel in 25 minutes.
Halep: This tournament is like a bonus for me. I came here with confidence and want to do everything I can to win matches.
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) October 25, 2015
It was a major contrast to their US Open semi-final which Pennetta won 6-1, 6-3 in under an hour, en route to lifting the title.
“I’m the same Halep but in the good way. There (in New York) was the bad way,” Halep said.
“I feel good here. I feel the court. I feel the game. I have great memories from last year, so I came with confidence. I played I think very solid today.”
Pennetta finally got on the board in the eighth game of the match and did make the second set a bit more competitive, forcing Halep to save two break points early on.
But the Italian was broken in a lengthy eighth game, which Halep took on her fourth chance, and the Red Group affair was quickly over. Halep improved to 3-4 against top-10 opposition in 2015.
“I was not nervous at all. She play I think really consistent. She was playing really well today. Everything was working in the good way,” was Pennetta’s explanation after the rout.
“Maybe I had not too much energy. I didn’t push a lot like always did.
“It’s okay. I mean, she always have a good start here. Last year she beat Serena 6 0, 6 2 in the first match.”
As Pennetta noted: “The Road to Singapore was pretty hard in the last month”.
Here, her road to the semi-finals just got that much harder.
