Serena Williams sealed her fifth WTA Finals title and took sweet revenge for her crushing loss to Simona Halep when she hammered the Romanian 6-3, 6-0 in Singapore on Sunday.
The 18-time grand slam-winner was broken early in the match but she reeled off eight games in a row to humiliatingly “bagel” Halep, five days after the Romanian’s 6-0, 6-2 win in group play.
The peerless Williams yet again proved she remains on top of women’s tennis at the age of 33 after becoming the first player to win the season finale three times in a row since Monica Seles in 1992.
I said, ‘Serena, you have nothing to lose. Just relax!” And then once I relaxed I just started playing better and kept making my shots
“She was playing so well and I was litreally on the side of the court and I just laughed. I said, ‘Serena, you have nothing to lose. Just relax!” Williams said.
“And then once I relaxed I just started playing better and kept making my shots.”
Williams fired 26 winners to just five conceded as she sealed her fifth year-end title in a fourth different city, ending the year on a high as the world No 1 and US Open champion.
Alarm bells rang for Williams early on and she conceded the match’s first break to go behind 1-2, to chants of “Si-mo-na” at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium.