By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Adhesive tape criss-crossed Simona Halep's left knee as she took the court to face world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
Halep yanked the tape off after the opening game.
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Kerber spent the rest of the match binding the speedy Romanian into errors behind the baseline.
Playing with calm control, Kerber overcame a 3-4 deficit with a committed five-game surge dismissing Halep 6-4, 6-2, to move closer to clinching a semifinal spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
"I'm feeling very, very good here," Kerber told Andrew Krasny afterward. "It's always great to be here on the center court. I really enjoy every day here. Congrats to Simona she played a great match she's always a tough opponent.
"I'm very happy to have won my second match here. It's just great to be playing my best tennis."
A sloppy Halep struggled to control her forehand and could not match the clean-striking Kerber in extended baseline rallies. Halep doubled the Australian Open champion's error output (35 to 16) and couldn't consistently produce the sharp angles necessary to stretch the solid German.
"I think I had the opportunity to get that first set," Halep said. "But maybe I didn't finish the important points. I missed a lot today, but she played great tennis. She's very strong on her legs. She's moving great. She deserved to win."
The top seed, who opened round-robin play with a three-set win over Dominika Cibulkova on Sunday, raised her record to 2-0 in the Red Group, while Halep dropped to 1-1.
A match of counter-punchers began with Kerber winning the toss and electing to receive.
The world No. 1 proceeded to drain forehand errors breaking to open and quickly backing up the break.
The third-seeded Romanian found her range swatting a forehand swing volley to hold for 2-3, breaking on a couple of netted Kerber errors and stamping a love hold for 4-3.
Halep held the momentum and a break point to seize a 5-3 lead, but could not convert. Kerber spread the court with a wide slice serve then thumped a forehand winner down the line to deny break point, eventually holding for 4-all.
Struggling to control the ball, Halep sailed successive shots gifting the break and a 5-4 lead.
During the changeover, Halep's coach Darren Cahill, urged her to keep fighting and take the initiative earlier in rallies.
A somber Halep returned to court and regressed with an error-filled game. Kerber exploited three forehand errors from the Romanian collecting a one-set lead after 43 minutes of play.
The US Open champion opened the second set with a break— her fourth consecutive game—continuing to target the Halep forehand. Kerber withstood double break point in the following game stretching her lead to 2-0.
"I think I was moving good," Kerber said. "I was going for it when I had the chance and I think that was the key, especially in this match against Simona today."
Halep finally stopped her five-game slide, holding for 1-2.
Two games later, Halep netted a pair of forehands and stared at her feet as Kerber captured her fourth break for 4-1.
"You're not really going after the high ball," Cahill told Halep on his second coaching visit. "The next high ball you get swing out of your shoes. I don't care how much you miss by let your arm go. There's only one way you get yourself back into this match: Work as hard as you can every single point. Come on, you can do this."
Halep couldn't shake free the stress. A disconsolate Halep started walking to her chair in the seventh game mistakenly believing she'd held.
Chair umpire Kader Nouni pointed out the game was not yet over. Though Halep would hold the end was in sight.
Zapping a diagonal forehand winner, Kerber denied a break point in the eighth game. Halep, who was finally swinging freely on her forehand, fought off two match points, but sailed a forehand return on the third match point.
Kerber closed in 82 minutes, raising her record to 60-17 on the season.
"I try every time I step on court to give my best," Kerber said. "Every match is tough here. Here are the best eight players in the world. I'm trying to focus on my game and win every single match."