World number one Simona Halep overcame Caroline Garcia in their opening round-robin match on day two of the WTA Finals in Singapore.
France’s Garcia, number eight in the rankings, had beaten Halep to win the China Open title earlier this month.
But the Romanian put in a solid performance in her first match as number one to win 6-4 6-2.
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina meet in the second Red Group match on Monday.
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova both earned straightforward victories in the White Group on day one.
Spain’s Muguruza beat French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-4 while Czech world number three Pliskova brushed aside American veteran Venus Williams 6-2 6-2.
| WTA Finals line-up | |
|---|---|
| RED GROUP | WHITE GROUP |
| 1. Simona Halep (Rom) | 1. Garbine Muguruza (Spa) |
| 2. Elina Svitolina (Ukr) | 2. Karolina Pliskova (Cze) |
| 3. Caroline Wozniacki (Den) | 3. Venus Williams (USA) |
| 4. Caroline Garcia (Fra) | 4. Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) |
Halep’s meeting with Garcia appeared to be far more competitive in the opening stages, as the world number one was forced to fend off two break points in her first service game, which lasted 15 minutes.
Garcia, who is making her debut in the Finals, was broken in the fifth game and although she responded immediately with a break of her own, she was unable to find another opportunity, and Halep went on to take the first set.
The Romanian secured a double break in the second set and held to love for a 5-1 lead, before seeing out the match in one hour and 28 minutes.
Halep, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title, leads the WTA rankings ahead of Mugurzua, although seven of the eight finalists are able to finish the year as world number one.
“I’m really pleased,” said the 26-year-old. “It wasn’t an easy first match against a player that beat me two weeks ago. I felt really well out there.”
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ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Race To London, as of Monday, 23 October 2017
No. 14 Juan Martin del Potro, +4
A convincing straight-sets triumph over top seed Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the Intrum Stockholm Open lifted Juan Martin del Potro into contention for a return to the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London. Del Potro secured his 20th ATP World Tour title and jumped four spots to No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Race to London by retaining his Stockholm crown. Read Report.
The Argentine has 2,135 points in the Race, 470 points behind eight-placed Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The 29-year-old is looking to secure his first Nitto ATP Finals berth since 2013 as one of the top eight players to qualify for the season finale. He is fourth seed at the Swiss Indoors Basel this week.
No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov, +1
The Bulgarian, who is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, improved his chances with a run to his third Stockholm final. It was his first defeat in four ATP World Tour finals this season.
The 26 year old rose one spot above Marin Cilic to No. in the Emirates ATP Race To London with 3,560 points, just 25 points ahead of the Croatian. He could seal his debut berth at the Nitto ATP Finals this week when he the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna.
No. 15 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, +7
A career-best fourth ATP World Tour title of 2017 for the Frenchman has further crowded the battle for Nitto ATP Finals berths. Tsonga’s straight-sets victory over Diego Schwartzman in the European Open final in Antwerp has catapulted him seven spots up to No. 15 in the Emirates ATP Race to London.
The 32-year-old Tsonga had already landed titles in Lyon, Marseille and Rotterdam earlier this year. Tsonga now has 2,055 points in the Race, 550 points behind Carreno Busta. He will attempt to make up ground in Vienna this week.
No. 29 Damir Dzumhur, +10
Damir Dzumhur’s love affair with Russia continued when the Bosnian and Herzegovinian clinched his second ATP World Tour title there on Sunday. The St. Petersburg Open champion improved to 10-0 on Russian soil this season with his VTB Kremlin Cup triumph by overcoming Lithuanian Ricardis Berankis.
With his confidence riding high, it marked Dzumhur’s third ATP World Tour final from his past seven tournaments. He will look to crack further improve on his career-high position in the Emirates ATP Rankings at Vienna this week.
Other Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 64 Federico Delbonis, +6
No. 82 Andreas Seppi, +8
No. 92 Ruben Bemelmans, +24
No. 93 Stefanos Tsitsipas, +26
No. 96 Julien Benneteau, +10
No.98 Mikhail Youzhny, +27
A LOOK BACK
Las Vegas Tennis Open (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA): #NextGenATP star Stefan Kozlov returned to the winners’ circle on Sunday, storming back from a set down to claim his second ATP Challenger Tour title. The American teen overcame Liam Broady 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes for his first crown since lifting his maiden trophy in Columbus nearly one year ago.
Kozlov failed to convert on two match points at 5-3 in the decider, but held his nerve and closed out the win on his third at 5-4. The 19-year-old’s win is the 13th for teenagers this year and 10th among Americans.
“We both just put it on the line today and it was 50-50,” Kozlov said. “We were both left gasping for air and it wasn’t easy. It could have gone either way today. I was very impressed with Liam’s sportsmanship today. I haven’t had the best last couple of months, a lot of ups and downs. For all the downs, you have to kind of look for the ups and today I had to dig deep for mine.”
Yinzhou International Men’s Tennis Challenger (Ningbo, China): Former World No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny is on the precipice of a Top 100 return after streaking to the title in Ningbo on Sunday. Youzhny did not drop a set all week, capped by a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Taro Daniel in the final. The Russian will rise to No. 101 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, improving to 6-1 in finals on the ATP Challenger Tour.
The week in Ningbo also featured one of the biggest comebacks and upsets of the year, as Austrian teen Jurij Rodionov stunned second seed Jordan Thompson from 3-6, 1-5 down to reach his first Challenger semi-final. Another teenager making noise at the $125,000 event was Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki. The 19 year old reached the quarter-finals and will rise 62 spots to a career-high No. 368 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Wolffkran Open (Ismaning, Germany): The inaugural tournament in Ismaning was a great success, with the top German players showcasing their talents on home soil. Six of the eight seeds were from the European nation and one of them – No. 3 Yannick Hanfmann – would take the title on Sunday. Hanfmann clinched his maiden ATP Challenger Tour crown 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 over Lorenzo Sonego. Runner-up at the ATP World Tour event in Gstaad earlier this year, he will rise to a career-high No. 113 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Three months after reaching his first @ATPWorldTour final @SwissOpenGstaad, @YannickHanfmann celebrates his first #ATPChallenger ? in Ismaning. pic.twitter.com/r4j5OxsQs6
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 23, 2017
First ATP Challenger title?✌️?☺️! Especially happy it being on home soil. ?? Thanks for the… https://t.co/YJJSnFY3xN
— Yannick Hanfmann (@YannickHanfmann) October 22, 2017
“It was an amazing feeling to win my first Challenger title in front of this home crowd,” said Hanfmann. “Especially after being down a break in the third set and looking like the loser. It gave me a huge boost that the crowd kept cheering me on. The tournament was greatly organised and I hope they will continue for many more years. It presents a great opportunity for our young guys from the region to fight for [Emirates ATP Rankings] points.”
Milo Open (Cali, Colombia): World No. 69 Federico Delbonis lifted his ninth ATP Challenger Tour trophy and second of the year, defeating Guilherme Clezar 7-6(10), 7-5 in Cali on Saturday. The Argentine had also claimed victory on the clay of Todi, Italy, in June. It marks the second straight week in which a player from Argentina has won a Challenger title, following Nicolas Kicker’s triumph in Buenos Aires.
A LOOK AHEAD
There are five tournaments on four continents. In Asia, Blaz Kavcic leads the field in Suzhou, China, while Taylor Fritz is the top seed at the third annual Vietnam Open in Ho Chi Minh City.
In Brest, France, third seed Norbert Gombos will seek to successfully defend his title. The €106,000 event also features #NextGenATP stars Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas is coming off his first ATP World Tour semi-final last week in Antwerp.
Also, in Traralgon, Australia, top seed Jordan Thompson will look to retain the title. Christian Garin seeks to do the same in Lima, Peru.
Believe it or not, a player with a record 19 Grand Slam crowns, 94 titles overall and 302 weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings still feels the pressure.
The Swiss Indoors Basel has always been a special tournament for Roger Federer, who has not only won the event seven times, but has made the final in each of his past 10 appearances. Although the Basel native missed his hometown tournament last year after shutting down his 2016 season early due to nagging injuries, he makes a long-awaited homecoming this week – but not without the weight of expectation.
“I hope I can stick around for a little bit. I do feel a lot of pressure, I must admit,” said Federer. “On Tuesday I play against a good first-round opponent in Frances Tiafoe, who is going to have a great career – I hope he’s not going to start his full-blown career right here in Basel, my hometown, I hope he leaves me this one and maybe he can have the next one!”
Tiafoe, who took Federer to five sets in a thrilling first-round match at the US Open this summer, is just one of many landmines in a tricky draw for the Swiss legend. Other seeds at the Swiss Indoors Basel include defending champion Marin Cilic, 2014 finalist David Goffin and two-time champion Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Federer in both 2012 and 2013 to claim his crowns.
But Federer, like many players, lives by the well-known platitude of focusing on one match at a time, and given the loaded draw in Basel this year, he acknowledges that it is more important than ever to abide by it.
“I’m really hoping to win that first one and then sort of get into the tournament. I have a really tough draw as well if you just look one round ahead with Benoit Paire or Steve Johnson – I usually don’t do that but it’s a tough little section for an ATP 500. It’s a tough start so I don’t know what to expect, personally.
“Thankfully [feeling the pressure] has not been a big issue for me here in Basel because I’ve been in the finals the last 10 times that I have played here, but there’s no guarantee I will do it again this year,” he added. “So that’s why I arrived early, I’ve practised a lot here on the centre court already, I’m starting to feel the ball better and my body is ready to go, so I’m hoping to play a good tournament.”
With the Nitto ATP Finals in London just around the corner following the European indoor swing, Federer admits that already qualifying for his 14th appearance at the prestigious season-ending event relieves some of the pressure of playing in Basel this week.
“My first qualification was back in 2002, so a long, long time ago,” said Federer, who will not only be looking to lift the trophy there for the seventh time, but will also be chasing rival Rafael Nadal for the year-end No. 1 ranking. “I’ve always played very well there and I have a great record: I won it twice in London, twice in Shanghai and twice in Houston, so I’d love to win again. It’s nice to know that you’re already qualified; it settles the nerves a little bit here at the indoor season at the end of the season.
“It would be an amazing finish to the season, but I know other players have the same idea, so we’ll see what happens.”