By Chris Oddo | Saturday, October 25, 2014
Serena Williams has come up with the perfect champion’s response to some early week hardship at the WTA Finals in Singapore, as the 18-time Grand Slam champion overcame a 6-0, 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Simona Halep in her second match of the week to win two consecutive matches to place herself in position to win a fifth WTA Finals title on Sunday.
Also Read: Halep Handles Radwanska to Reach Singapore Final
Williams, who qualified for the semifinals on Friday when Simona Halep took a set from Ana Ivanovic to end the Serb’s hopes, reached the final with her 6th consecutive victory over Caroline Wozniacki, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).
Williams had to overcome a shaky opener against Wozniacki, which saw her obliterate a racquet when she fell behind 5-2, but that outburst may have served to increase the sense of urgency in Williams’ tennis.
She took the second set 6-3 to force the decider, claiming it on a Wozniacki double-fault, but the tense battle would go deep into the third set before a winner would be decided.
Wozniacki broke for a 5-4 lead in the decider but Williams would return the favor with a leaping smash that brought the crowd to its feet and then proceed to force match point with Wozniacki serving at 5-6. It was then that the Dane played the point of the match, winning a protracted exchange at the net with a put-away volley to escape the danger.
Watch: Wozniacki Cracks Smile after Saving Match Point vs. Serena Williams in Singapore
With the momentum in Wozniacki’s favor, the Dane went ahead in the tiebreaker, 4-1. Next it was Williams’ turn to escape disaster. She received a lucky let cord bounce to avoid going 5-1 down in the tiebreaker and eventually found herself holding two more match points.
Wozniacki would save them both, but Williams would then put an end to the proceedings by taking the final two points of this hard-fought battle.