WTA Finals

Serena 'embarrassed' by Halep in Singapore

ESPN staff

October 22, 2014

Serena Williams suffered her heaviest defeat in 16 years at the hands of Simona Halep © AP

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Serena Williams was routed 6-0 6-2 by Simona Halep at the WTA Finals on Wednesday in one of the most one-sided losses of the 18-time grand slam champion's career.

The last time Williams managed to win just two games in a WTA Tour or grand slam match was in 1998 when she was just 16.

"Embarrassed is the way I would describe how I played," Williams said. "Definitely embarrassing."

The loss in the round-robin match snapped Williams' 16-match winning streak at the year-end championships, where she is the two-time defending champion.

The 6-0 first set was the first time since the 2008 championships that Williams had lost a set by that score, against sister Venus.

Simona Halep had never previously beaten a top three-ranked player © AP

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"My forehand was off today," Williams said. "It's obviously gone on an early vacation. My serve was at best at the 10-and-under division of juniors."

The fourth-ranked Halep had never before beaten a player ranked in the world's top three. In her previous two matches against Williams, both last year, the Romanian had won a total of seven games.

Halep, runner-up at this year's French Open, beat Eugenie Bouchard in her opening match and moves to 2-0 in the Red Group. Williams slips to 1-1 and will face Bouchard next.

Williams served six double-faults in the opening set and had 36 unforced errors - three times Halep's total. But the key to the result was the performance on break points. Both players had six: Williams took none of them while Halep converted five.

Williams was surprised by Halep's performance, saying: "she has never played like this before."

"To be frankly honest, I am looking forward to our next meeting because she is going to make me go home, train hard and particularly train for her," Williams said.

In summary Simona Halep played great. Good job and Good luck.— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) October 22, 2014

Williams has it all to play for in her final match, but her opponent Eugenie Bouchard's season is effectively over after her second round-robin defeat at the hands of Ana Ivanovic.

The Wimbledon finalist lost 6-1 6-3 to Ivanovic and can no longer qualify for the semi-finals, bringing an impressive breakthrough season to a close.

Ivanovic will face Halep in their third match after recovering from a narrow defeat against Williams in her opening match to stand on the verge of the semi-finals in Singapore.

"This is the beauty of the round robin system," Ivanovic said. "I really tried to come out here and just enjoy the match.

"I'd lost to her twice before, so today I tried to be aggressive and step in. I did this well and I'm really pleased with how I played."