Eugenie Bouchard Loses Opener At WTA Finals

Eugenie Bouc

Romania's Simona Halep comfortably defeated Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-3 on Monday's opening night of the WTA Finals in Singapore.

In a clash of the only two players making their first appearance at the season-ending championships, Halep lost only four points when getting her first serve into play.

Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., was well below her best, racking up 30 unforced errors against 11 from Halep.

"Going for it is always my game style but today there was definitely a lack of consistency," Bouchard said. "I didn't feel match sharp, but I feel like I can build on this and I still have another match, which is a bit of a positive."

Bouchard will next face Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday while Halep will face Serena Williams.

Williams won her opening match earlier on Monday, beating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 in the other Red Group match, for her 16th consecutive victory at the finals.

Williams came into the finals after injuries forced her out of her previous two outings and following Russian official Shamil Tarpischev's disparaging comments about her and sister Venus.

The top-ranked Williams was shaky in her opening service game, saving two break points, but still took a 4-1 lead. Ivanovic got back on serve but lost the first set when she double-faulted at 15-40 in the final game — one of her seven double-faults.

Williams served 12 aces and improved her record against Ivanovic to 8-1 despite her injury-interrupted preparation.

"I felt the knee a little bit, but compared to what it was in Beijing, it just feels so much better," Williams said. "I was up 4-1 in the first set and cruising and she does what she does best. I felt my energy level got a little low and then I just tried to do everything I can to bring my energy level up to just to fight."

In Tuesday's White Group matches, Maria Sharapova takes on Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova faces Agnieszka Radwanska.